My New Dream
by Kasey of Gallifrey
Summary: What was going through Eugene's head as he went on this amazing adventure with Rapunzel? Find out in this story showing the whole movie through Eugene's eyes.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Tangled..._I wish I could take credit for it, but unfortunately I can't.**

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><p>This is the story of how I died…<p>

But don't worry; this is actually a very fun story and the truth is it isn't even mine. This is the story of a girl named Rapunzel. And it starts with the sun…

Now, once upon a time, a single drop of sunlight fell from the heavens, and from this drop grew a magic, golden flower. It had the ability to heal the sick and injured. An old woman was the first to discover this flower and its magical gifts. You might want to remember her; she's kind of important.

Well, centuries passed, and a hop, skip and a boat ride away, there grew a kingdom. The kingdom was ruled by a beloved king and queen. And the queen, well, she was about to have a baby, but she got sick…really sick. She was running out of time, and that's when people usually start to look for a miracle.

Or in this case, a magic golden flower.

Remember the old lady from before? I told you she'd be important. You see, instead of sharing the sun's gift, this woman—Mother Gothel—hoarded its healing power and used it to keep herself young for hundreds of years. And all she had to do was sing a special song. Creepy, right?

But one night, Mother Gothel didn't properly hide the flower, and some of the king's men found it. The magic of the golden flower healed the queen. A healthy baby girl—a princess—was born with beautiful golden hair. I'll give you a hint: that's Rapunzel. To celebrate her birth, the king and queen launched a flying lantern into the sky, and for that one moment, everything was perfect.

And then that moment ended. Gothel broke into the castle, stole the child, and just like that, she was gone.

The kingdom searched and searched, but they could not find the princess, for deep within the forest, in a hidden tower, Gothel raised the child as her own. Gothel had found her new magic flower, and this time, she was determined to keep it hidden. But the walls of that tower could not hide everything. Each year on her birthday, the king and queen released thousands of lanterns into the sky in the hope that one day, their lost princess would return.

Now, you're probably wondering what my role in this story is. To get to that, you've got to fast forward about eighteen years.

My name is Flynn Rider. I'm charming, ruggedly handsome, and I happen to be the most wanted thief in the whole kingdom.

Recently, I'd teamed up with the Stabbington Brothers. Those guys were both incredibly big and incredibly scary. One of the brothers had these really awful sideburns, and the other had a pretty creepy eye-patch.

Sideburns, Eye-patch, and I had come up with the perfect plan to steal the princess's crown. The way I saw it, she'd been missing for almost two decades, so it's not like she needed it or anything. Plus, the crown was just sitting out in a room in the palace. No one was using it.

Well, anyway, our story begins with the three of us sliding across the rooftop of the castle. I was in the lead, of course. I signaled the others to stop moving for a moment as a palace guard walked by below us. I peeked over the edge to see if he was gone yet and noticed the incredible view of the city that could be seen from there. You see, I have a keen eye for beauty, and let me tell you, this was one beautiful place.

"Wow," I said, mostly to myself. "I could get used to a view like this."

"Rider," Sideburns whispered harshly from behind me. Clearly he didn't appreciate this place the way I did. "Come on."

"Hold on," I told him, holding up my hand. "Yep, I'm used to it. Guys, I want a castle."

"We do this job," he grumbled, "and you can buy your own castle." He walked behind me and yanked my collar, forcing me to move. Personally, I thought this was a little rude. I mean, it's not like we were running late or anything.

After hopping over a few more rooftops, we finally reached the one we'd been looking for. The brothers removed one of the square panels from the wood ceiling while I tied a rope around my waist. Being the lightest one of the bunch, it was my job to be lowered down to retrieve the crown. I squeezed through the hole and felt myself sinking farther and farther down. There was a line of about ten guards standing with their backs to the crown. I held my breath as I gently lifted the treasure off of its cushion.

Then, one of the guards sneezed. Unable to resist the temptation to mess with them a bit, I said, "Ugh, hay fever?"

The guard didn't notice anything unusual at first, so he responded, "Yeah." About a second later, he realized what was going on and spun around, but by that time I was already climbing out of the hole.

I shoved the crown into a satchel I'd brought, and the brothers and I slid off the roof and quickly ran out of the palace grounds.

We headed over the bridge that connected the kingdom to the forest. I snuck a glance back at the brilliant palace and recalled the magnificent view. "Can't you picture me in a castle of my own?" I asked. "Because I certainly can." I smiled and thought about buying my own castle with the money that the crown would get me. "All the things we've seen and it's only eight in the morning! Gentlemen, this is a very big day."

I tightened my grip on the satchel and began to run a bit faster. I wanted to get away from the kingdom as quickly as possible. Then I could finally ditch Tweedledee and Tweedledum and keep the crown all to myself. There's something you ought to know about me: I don't work well with others. I have a tendency to betray people to get what I want. But doing this had always worked well for me, so I saw no reason why I should change.

After a very long time of constant running, I got tired and stopped to rest against a tree. Some papers stapled to its trunk caught my eye. They were "Wanted" posters with sketches of the three of us. I tore off mine and looked down at it.

"Oh no," I said, staring at the picture in shock. "No, no, no, no, no, no. This is bad. This is very, very bad. This is _really _bad." The brothers had stopped and were looking at me. I turned the paper around so that they could see it. "They just can't get my nose right."

"Who cares?" Sideburns muttered disdainfully. Clearly he didn't understand. My good looks were my only good quality. It was just plain cruel for the guards to mess up my picture.

"Easy for you to say," I told him, bending down to get a better look at the picture of the Stabbingtons. "You guys look amazing." Well, they didn't _really _look amazing. They looked hideously ugly, but that's how they looked in real life too, so at least the artist had drawn them right.

Suddenly, I heard the sounds of several approaching horses. Oh crap. They'd caught up to us. I turned around to see about five members of the royal police sitting on their horses on top of a small cliff nearby. They spotted us right away and turned around to find a way to get to us. I shoved the "Wanted" poster into my satchel and sprinted in the opposite direction. I tripped a little bit but quickly got back to my feet and kept running right past the Stabbington brothers. I started to wonder why they had stopped when I looked up and saw that we were trapped. Two large walls of rock, each about fifteen feet high, stood on either side of us and came together at a point straight ahead.

Thinking quickly, I turned to the brothers and said, "Alright, okay, give me a boost and I'll pull you up."

They exchanged a look. "Give us the satchel first," Sideburns demanded, holding out his hand.

With the air of being greatly insulted, I said, "What? I just…I can't believe that after all we've been through together you don't trust me." I looked at them with an offended expression and put my hand over my heart to show that I'd been hurt by their distrust. Neither one seemed to buy my little act. "Ouch," I muttered, but I couldn't blame them for doubting me.

I took off the bag and I handed it to Sideburns. He put it around himself and stood on top of his brothers shoulders. They then leaned against the wall, and I climbed up them, taking extra care to make this as painful as possible. When I saw Sideburns concentrating more on the pain of my feet digging into the back of his legs than on the security of the satchel, I slyly grabbed the strap and took it with me.

"Now help us up, pretty boy," Sideburns commanded, holding out his hand.

I looked down at them with a cocky grin. "Sorry. My hands are full." I dangled the bag over the edge for them to see.

I heard the brothers shout, "_Rider_!" as I started running again. I could hear the sound of galloping horses closing in. The five officers rode up on their horses and began to shoot arrows at me from behind. I did my best to dodge these and kept ducking behind trees for cover.

As I was running, I noticed a vine hanging out in front of me. I grabbed onto it and swung around the tree it was attached to. With impeccable timing, the leader of this squad of royal police was riding up right in front of me as I swung down. I kicked the rider off of the saddle and took his place on the horse.

I had just turned around to laugh at the man I'd knocked off when the horse suddenly stopped. It turned around and glared at me.

"Come on, flee-bag, forward," I commanded. I just made the most fantastic escape ever and I was not about to let some animal screw it up for me.

But this horse was a bit smarter than average. He noticed the satchel in my hand and started trying to get it away from me. The horse and I struggled for a bit, fighting over the bag until it was flung out of my hands and landed on the edge of a branch that was hanging over a cliff. I managed to grab onto the branch and slowly crawled over toward the crown, but the horse kept stomping its hooves where my hands were going to go. I finally reached the satchel and held it up in the horse's face.

"Ha," I said smugly.

But my victory was short-lived. The branch snapped off the side of the cliff and the horse and I plummeted down to the grassy forest floor below. Luckily, I landed in a soft spot behind a large rock. As soon as the horse was out of sight, I came out of my hiding spot and walked through a curtain of ivy that was growing down in front of the mouth of a short cave. I found a space between the rocks that formed the back of the cave and quickly squeezed through that hole.

What I saw next took my completely by surprise. I was standing in the middle of a small clearing with trees on each side and mountains in the back. A waterfall fell from the side of a mountain and created a peaceful stream. But this natural beauty wasn't what caught my eye. Instead, my attention was drawn toward the tower that stood alone in the center. It was a quaint little place and looked like it had been taken directly out of a storybook. I couldn't help but feel a little bit of childish excitement as I thought about the many fairytale princes that had gone on similar adventures only to come out with money and a beautiful princess.

I heard a sound behind me that brought be back to reality. I was a thief, not a prince, and this tower was probably abandoned. With this thought in mind, I began to climb up its side, hoping to use this spot as my hiding place.

It took a lot of work but I finally managed to climb through the window at the top of the tower. I closed the shutters and pulled out my satchel.

This wasn't a fairytale; this was a getaway. I wasn't there to rescue some damsel in distress. No, I was there to enjoy my spoils.

I pulled off the satchel and opened it. "Alone at last," I muttered to the crown, smiling down at it.

Then, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head as something large and metal collided with my skull.


	2. Chapter 2

**Dear Mother Knows Best  
><strong>**This is all in my own words. Is there really a novel? I didn't even know about it.  
>Thanks for the review. I appreciate it.<br>Sincerely, Kasey Rose**

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><p>I was riding a majestic white horse at a breathtaking speed. As we galloped through the town, I winked at a group of young ladies who were whispering excitedly to one another. At least three of these girls swooned after I did so. I turned back to face forward with a self-assured grin on my face. Everyone here loved me; I was the hero of the kingdom.<p>

"Goodbye, Eugene!" several people called as they saw me riding past. They waved frantically and shouted, "Good luck!"

They were referring to the assignment I was about to undertake. I'd been given the mission from the king himself. He said he would trust it with no one but myself, his best, most honest officer. My task was to retrieve a beautiful princess from where she was being held against her will.

My horse and I soon approached a clearing deep within the forest. An enchanting tower stood before me, ivy growing up its stone base. I walked up to the bottom of this building and started to wonder how I would be able to climb up. Suddenly, a ladder appeared in front of me and reached all the way to the top of the tower. Though I knew this was not there before, I wasn't bothered by its unexplained arrival. Instead, I simply grabbed on and began to climb up.

When I reached the top, I squeezed through the window and found myself in a very peaceful room. Sitting on a bed nearby was a princess, beautiful, young and delicate. She had flowing golden hair and sparkling emerald eyes. She thanked me for saving her and leaned in for a kiss. Because I never turn down the opportunity to kiss a pretty girl, I leaned in as well. But rather than allowing our lips to meet, she poked the side of my face. I looked at her in confusion as she continued to poke and prod my cheek. Then, out of nowhere, she decided to lean forward and lick my ear.

I jumped a little in my seat and opened my eyes. I had been dreaming the whole time…weird. It all felt so real. I looked around and noticed that I was in the same room I'd dreamt about. That must mean I was still in the tower.

I suddenly became aware of a terrible, aching pain in the back of my head. I couldn't exactly remember _why _my head was hurting so badly, but I knew that somehow I'd been knocked unconscious. I was a little freaked out by this. Someone had knocked me out and then kept me locked up here...why?

I tried to move but found that my arms and legs were bound to the chair by thick, gold rope. Under normal circumstances, I would have been panicking a lot more about being tied up and immobile, but I was a bit distracted by the "rope." It wasn't really rope at all. The material was far too soft and the strands were too fine. I noticed that the not-rope formed a trail from the chair to several different spots all around the room, finally ending in the banisters overhead. I saw a figure moving in the shadows up there and suddenly realized what was binding me.

"Is this…hair?"

I hadn't really expected my captor to answer, but soon a shaky, female voice told me, "Struggling…struggling is pointless." She didn't seem like a person who made a habit of keeping prisoners.

"Huh?" I responded vaguely, still a bit disturbed by the fact that I was tied up with _actual human hair._

The woman jumped down from the banisters, though she remained in the dark portion of the room for the moment. "I know why you're here," she continued, still with a slight quiver in her voice. "And I'm not…afraid of you."

"What?" I asked. Why would anyone be afraid of me? I was a thief not a thug. And why did she think I was there? And what had caused my head to _still _hurt so badly?

My captor slowly began to emerge from the shadows. When I called her a "woman" earlier, I was completely wrong. She was a young girl, no older than twenty. Her hair was a soft, golden color and the sun's light reflected off of it, giving her a sort of halo. Her eyes were a magnificent green and there was a combination of determination and uncertainty twinkling in them. In her hands, she was holding a frying pan, which would explain the chronic pain in my head. She was very slim and petite, making her look much too fragile to be out in the world. She wore a slender purple dress with no shoes on her small feet. Overall, her whole being gave off a general air of innocence that was so uncommon in people these days.

"Who are you, and how did you find me?" she asked, raising the frying pan in a threatening manner.

"Ah-ha," I muttered, still taking in her appearance, not quite ready to form coherent statements yet. She was really quite pretty, not at all the type of person you'd expect to hit you over the head and keep you tied up in a tower.

"Who are you, and how did you find me?" she inquired again, lowering her voice to a more aggressive tone. She raised the pan a bit higher, ready to swing.

When I'd finally allowed her looks to soak in, I felt a new sort of hope growing inside me. Young, attractive girls like this who were sheltered and naïve to the ways of the world were always the easiest to manipulate. That might sound a bit messed up, but I really just wanted to convince her to let me go. I quickly formulated a plan in my head and carefully thought over the words I was going to say. When I was fully ready, I cleared my throat and responded, "I know not who you are nor how I came to find you, but may I just say"—I lowered my head and then looked up at her with my most flirtatious expression—"Hi." I flashed my signature smile, the one that always helped me out with the ladies. "How ya doing? The name's Flynn Rider. How's your day going, huh?"

The girl was a bit surprised at my response, but that was all. She didn't really react to it in any other way, which by itself was unusual for me. I mean seriously, who would want to turn down Flynn Rider? Apparently, she would. She leaned forward and held the frying pan in front of my face menacingly. "Who else knows my location, _Flynn Rider_?"

From the way she said my name, I was guessing that she didn't like me too much. But what was with all these weird questions she was asking? You'd think there was some sort of conspiracy out to get her. "Alright, Blondie—"

"Rapunzel," she corrected.

At the time it didn't really register to me that this was her name. I mean, come on, who would name their kid _Rapunzel_? "Gesundheit. Here's the deal. I was in a situation, gallivanting through the forest. I came across your tower and—" As I told the story I remembered _why _I had been gallivanting in the first place. The crown. I began to look around frantically for the stolen artifact. "Oh, oh no," I said as I struggled to find it. "Where is my satchel?" I demanded, slightly panicked.

Rapunzel crossed her arms and looked at me smugly. "I've hidden it—somewhere you'll never find it."

I glanced around the room for the most likely hiding spot. I noticed a nearby pot that seemed like a good bet. "It's in that pot, isn't it?" I asked, very sure of myself.

She didn't seem to like the fact that I figured out her super-secret-hiding-spot. She swung back the pan. Before I even had a chance to register what was going to happen, there was a very loud _thwack,_ and everything went dark.


	3. Chapter 3

I resumed consciousness for the second time that day as I felt something wet inside my ear. My eyes snapped open and I looked over at my shoulder. Sitting there with its tongue in my ear was a weird, green lizard-frog-thing.

"Ah," I screamed with as much masculinity as I could muster. I made a quick, jerking motion with my shoulder so the frog was knocked off. "Will you stop that?" I snapped at it as I tried to rub its spit out of my ear.

"_Now_ it's hidden where you'll never find it," Rapunzel told me triumphantly. She was standing in front of me with her arms crossed, still clutching the frying pan. "So," she said, circling the chair I was tied to. "What do you want with my hair?" she asked me, coming around in front once more. She stuck the pan right underneath my chin as a way to threaten me into talking. "To cut it?"

"What?" I had no idea what the heck she was talking about.

"To sell it?" Rapunzel continued, acting as if I hadn't interrupted. She then proceeded to circle the chair again. To be honest, she made me sort of nervous when she did this.

"_No_," I responded truthfully. Why would I want her _hair_? I mean, sure, it was a bit weird to have so much of it and it was much softer than normal hair, but I would gain absolutely _nothing _from taking it. "Listen, the only thing I want to do with your hair, is to get out of it…_literally_." I squirmed a bit in my chair to demonstrate how wrapped up I was.

"Y—" she began, but she cut herself off. "Wait…you _don't _want my hair?"

_Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner, _I thought. "Why on earth would I want your hair? Listen, I was being chased; I saw a tower; I climbed it. End of story."

"You're…telling the truth?" she asked, sounding a bit surprised.

For once in my life, I could honestly answer, "Yes." I said the word with a bit of an attitude. Honestly, I was getting a little impatient with this girl's pointless questions. I was willing to cut her some slack at first because she looked like a good person, not to mention she was quite pretty; but I had some more thief-things to do and I really needed to get out of there.

That weird lizard-frog-thingy climbed out from behind Rapunzel's hair. He crawled down her arm and onto the very edge of the frying pan, which by now was very close to my face. The little creature looked at me for a little bit before Rapunzel pulled it back toward her. She walked far enough away so she could whisper to the frog without allowing me to hear any of it. The two began to have a pretty intense conversation while I just sat there, staring at them.

This whole thing was just so…_bizarre_! I was trapped in a tower, tied to a chair by this girl's fifty-foot hair, and now she was talking to a lizard about what to do next. All I wanted to do was get my satchel, buy an island, and enjoy a nice, quiet life by myself.

Thinking about this dream only strengthened my motivation to leave. I glanced over at Rapunzel. Her back was to me and she couldn't see what I was up to, so I started to struggle and pull against my restraints.

My attempts to escape were stopped, however, when she started talking to me again. "Okay, Flynn Rider," she said. "I'm prepared to offer you a deal."

"Deal?" I asked, wondering what exactly she had in mind. I didn't think I could agree to anything that involved giving her money or the crown or anything of that sort.

"Look this way," she commanded, tugging on her hair so that my chair spun around.

Unfortunately, she didn't quite judge this right and the chair lost its balance, causing me to fall flat on my face. I was still able to see whatever she wanted to show me, so Rapunzel didn't bother putting me back upright.

She had walked onto a ledge above a fireplace, and she was pulling back a red curtain that covered the portion of the wall that was directly above this hearth. "Do you know what these are?" she asked as she held back the curtain and revealed a painting.

The art was really quite impressive. The picture showed a girl with long, flowing hair—I assumed this was her—sitting on top of a tree, staring at the night sky. The air was filled with colorful, floating lights that I immediately recognized.

"You mean the lantern-thing they do for the princess?" I suggested, finding it difficult to talk with my whole face shoved up against the cold marble floor.

Rapunzel seemed excited and intrigued by what I said. She began to mumble something softly to herself. I couldn't quite make out what she was saying, but soon she began talking normally once more. "Well, tomorrow evening they will light the night sky with these _lanterns_. You"—she pointed the pan in my direction—"will act as my guide, take me to these lanterns, and return me home safely. Then, and only then, will I return your satchel to you. That is my deal."

I thought this over. I _did _want my satchel back, but the risks of this plan far out-weighed the reward. I mean, honestly, why would I be motivated to put myself in danger just so some sheltered little girl could go out and see the lanterns?

I managed to lift myself up ever-so-slightly with my fingers and shifted my body weight so that I landed on my side. Though this was not an ideal position, it was still much better than being forced to talk into the ground.

"Yeah," I finally responded, "no can do. Unfortunately, the kingdom and I aren't exactly '_sympatico_' at the moment, so I won't be taking you anywhere."

Rapunzel looked down at her little side-kick who was perched on her shoulder. He made some sort of gesture with his little green hands. She made a small nod and then jumped down, a more aggressive expression on her face. She began to walk toward me and said, "Something brought you here, Flynn Rider." She tugged on her hair, which caused the chair to lift up to its normal position. "Call it what you will: fate, destiny…"

"A horse," I finished.

"So I have made the decision to trust you," she continued, ignoring my interruption.

"A horrible decision, really," I informed her. That much was true. No one really trusted me, and with good reason. I was a thief, a liar, a criminal.

Again, Rapunzel kept talking as if I'd never said anything. "But trust _me _when I tell you this." She pulled on her hair once more and caused the chair to lean forward on its two front legs. She held up her hand and moved in closer to prevent me from falling on my face once more. "You can tear this tower apart, brick by brick, but without my help, you will never find your precious satchel."

I thought about her deal again. If I took her to really isolated places where security was scarce, _maybe _I could pull it off. But then again, it would be a heck of a lot easier to just convince her to let me go. I cleared my throat and said, "Let me just get this straight. I take you to see the lanterns, bring you back home, and you'll give me back my satchel?"

She leaned in a bit closer so that our faces were mere inches apart. "I promise," she said.

I shot her a skeptical look. In my line of business, a promise really didn't hold a lot of merit.

She sensed my reluctance to believe her and added, "And when I promise something, I never, _ever_ break that promise."

I raised an eyebrow, still not convinced.

"_Ever_."

I wanted to believe her; I really did. I wanted to accept that this sweet young girl was telling the truth. I wanted her to be a good person. But I'd seen too much of human nature to know that people aren't always as honest or as innocent as they seem.

I decided to use something that she'd have to give in too. It was my secret weapon, the strategy that never failed. I sighed. I almost felt bad using this on her. "Alright, listen, I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice. Here comes the smolder." I lowered my head and looked up at her, squinting my eyes slightly and pursing my lips. I adjusted the position of my eyebrows and waited for her to react.

She didn't.

I waited a bit longer.

Still nothing. That was a major blow to my excessively high self-esteem.

"This is kind of an off day for me; this doesn't normally happen," I said in a slightly strained voice as I attempted to keep my smolder going. I could tell that Rapunzel wasn't going to cave in to me, so I allowed my face to relax and accepted defeat. "Fine. I'll take you to see the lanterns."

"Really?" she asked, so excited that she pulled her hands in and forgot that she was holding me up.

The chair fell forward and I face-planted onto the dusty floor. "You broke my smolder," I managed to say despite the massive pain all over my face. This was going to be a very…interesting adventure.

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><p>Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully I'll have the next one up some time tomorrow night. Please review and tell me what you think. Much appreciated.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

I couldn't believe I'd actually agreed to this. I dreaded every minute of the journey to come as I scaled down the wall of the tower. I was supposed to be relaxing on some remote island by now, not babysitting some random stranger. At least she was pretty.

"You coming, Blondie?" I called up to Rapunzel.

I was already about halfway down the tower wall and she was still waiting up there. I was getting a little impatient and annoyed. My frustration wasn't entirely Rapunzel's fault. Climbing down required me to use a lot of my strength, and it was tiring work. Not to mention the fact that my headache had come back. A frying pan could really do some damage. But I mean seriously, how long does it take to get ready? I was almost to the bottom and she _still _hadn't come out yet.

Suddenly, Rapunzel's thick, golden tresses dropped out from the window at the top. Her long hair created a rope that almost reached the grassy floor below. She had hooked her hair around something on the roof of the tower and grabbed onto her hair. Next thing I knew, she was zooming past me, sliding down. This whole experience was apparently very exciting for her. She sang and laughed until she was only a few inches away from the ground. She paused here, hesitant, and then finally put her feet down on the grass.

Rapunzel was giggling and singing happily by the time I finished climbing down. Her childish enthusiasm made me smile a bit. It was hard not to feel a little bit better seeing her this thrilled about nothing more than nature.

But soon her mood changed. She would alternate between pleasure at finally being outside and remorse for betraying her mother and leaving the tower. Honestly, her attitude changed so often in the next hour and a half that I couldn't really keep up. Eventually, I just sat back and watched it all unfold with detached indifference. This was when I really started to regret agreeing to come out with this girl. Babysitting her was starting to feel a lot like work.

In order to keep my mind off of all this drama with Rapunzel, I started to imagine what I would do when I finally got the payout from the crown. I'd go buy an isolated house somewhere deep within the forest. Maybe I'd get myself a horse as well. That would be nice. I'd half-retire from thieving, but I could still go out and steal things from time to time. I'd save up enough money to finally be able to claim myself the richest man in the kingdom. Money, solitude and peace from the rest of the world: that would be a _great _way to live.

I stood around as Rapunzel's emotional roller coaster continued. Eventually, she settled down by a big rock and began crying. She had pulled her knees to her chest and had buried her head in her hands. Clearly the guilt and sadness had won out against the joy.

I walked over to her, deciding that it was time to try to convince her to go back. As I approached and heard her sobs, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. The poor thing just wanted a little bit of freedom, but here she was, beating herself up instead of enjoying it. I sighed silently. This was not the time to comfort her. I had to focus on getting her to call off this deal.

As I got closer, I pushed all empathy out of my body and replaced it with my desire to get back the satchel. I cleared my throat to let her know I was there, and then squatted down beside her. "You know, I can't help but notice you seem a little at war with yourself here."

"What?" she said, lifting her head out of her hands.

"Now I'm only picking up bits and pieces," I continued, standing up. "Over-protective mother, forbidden road trip—I mean, this is serious stuff. But let me ease your conscience. This is part of growing up. A little adventure, a little rebellion—that's good…healthy, even." Rapunzel's little green pet climbed off the rock and onto my shoulder. I kept my eyes on her as I brushed the thing off.

Part of me wished that I could really console her rather than just manipulating her to get what I wanted. But this wasn't the time to be a humanitarian. Plus, I was Flynn Rider, a thief not a nice guy. I was more of a lone wolf, not a people-person. Using people to benefit my own selfish desires was what I did. There was no reason to change that just because I pitied some girl.

Rapunzel gave a little laugh and smiled up at me hopefully. "You think?"

"I know," I responded confidently. "You're _way _over-thinking this." I prepared myself for the final part of this plan. I knew it would make Rapunzel feel even worse about her decision to leave, and I almost felt guilty. Almost. "Does your mother deserve it? No. Would this break her heart and crush her soul. Of course, but you've just got to do it." I crossed my arms and stood back, letting it sink in.

Rapunzel's eyes widened and she inhaled sharply. "Break her heart?" she asked softly.

"In half," I responded nonchalantly, picking up a berry and examining it.

"Crush her soul?"

"Like a grape." I squeezed the berry between my index finger and thumb, causing the thing to burst open.

"She would be heartbroken. You're right," Rapunzel said, nervously stroking her hair.

I gently grabbed her arms and helped her stand. "I am, aren't I?" I pretended to be saddened by this. "Oh bother," I added dramatically. I sighed to show that I was upset. "Alright, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm letting you out of the deal," I said with the air of being very disappointed.

"What?" she asked as I walked over to grab the frying pan and her pet iguana.

"That's right, but don't thank me," I told her. "Let's just turn around and get you home." I placed the lizard on her shoulder and the pan under her arm. "Here's your pan; here's your frog." I put my arm around her and led her toward the path to the tower. "I get back my satchel, and you get back a mother-daughter relationship based on mutual trust, and—_viola_!—we part ways as unlikely friends."

She shoved me away from her and said, "No, I am seeing those lanterns."

I dropped the whole pretense and showed how frustrated I was. "Oh come on! What'll it take for me to get my satchel back?"

She lifted the frying pan and pointed it at my face. "I will use this."

Then, there was a rustling coming from a nearby hedge. Rapunzel freaked out. She gasped and jumped behind me, hopping onto my back.

"Is it ruffians? Thugs?" she asked me intently, holding onto my neck to prevent herself from falling. "Have they come for me?"

There were a few very suspenseful seconds as the rustling continued and grew louder. Then, the creature emerged from within the bush.

It was a bunny rabbit.

"Stay calm," I said wryly. "It can probably smell fear."

Rapunzel giggled nervously and released her hold on me. "Oh, sorry," she said, smiling. There was a light blush on her cheeks. "I guess I'm just a little bit jumpy."

As she said this, a new plan began to form in my mind. "Probably be best if we avoid ruffians and thugs though," I said slowly.

She laughed. "Yeah, that'd probably be best."

"Are you hungry?" I asked enthusiastically. "I know a great place for lunch."

"Uh, where?" she asked with a smile.

I grinned back. "Oh, don't you worry. You'll know it when you smell it." I grabbed the edge of the pan and used it to pull Rapunzel along behind me. My plan was officially in motion. Maybe I'd be getting back my satchel a lot sooner than I'd thought.


	5. Chapter 5

"I know it's around here somewhere," I told Rapunzel as I led her toward a local bar. Soon the small building came into view. This place was my last chance to get rid of this deal and get back my satchel as soon as possible. "Ah, there it is, the Snuggly Duckling." A wooden sign depicting a yellow duck sitting among a pile of reeds hung before us, indicating that we were in the right place. "Don't worry; very quaint place, perfect for you," I lied. "Don't want you _scaring _and giving up on this whole endeavor, now do we?"

Rapunzel smiled obliviously. Her innocence and naiveté were making me feel a bit bad about deceiving her. "Well, I do like ducklings," she said, grinning up at me.

"Yay," I responded in a voice full of false cheer. My guilt continued to grow. Tricking her was like tricking a puppy—it just made you feel like a terrible person.

We walked up to the door, the happy ignorance still on her face. I swung it open and ushered her in.

"Gassón, your finest table, please," I shouted, ignoring her surprised gasp.

Fear gleamed in her eyes as she glanced around. The Duckling was filled with big, meaty men with big, scary knives. The majority of them had long, garish scars on their faces and arms. One even had a hook instead of a left hand.

Rapunzel held out the frying pan in front of her, ready to fight off any thug that came too close. Jeesh, what kind of awful person did she think I was? I mean, really, I would never take her somewhere where she could _actually _get hurt. I knew I could protect her from anyone who tried anything. She had nothing to worry about.

This was why I found it so easy to remain calm and confident. I kept a cheerful grin on my face and acted as if this place was just lovely.

"You smell that?" I asked her, leaning down so my face was right beside hers. I put my arm around her shoulder and gently eased her forward. "Take a deep breath through the nose." I inhaled to demonstrate. "Really let that seep in. What are you getting? Because to me, it's part man-smell, and the other part is _really _bad man-smell. I don't know why, but overall it just smells like the color brown. Your thoughts?"

Rapunzel didn't seem to be listening to me. She just kept looking around, terrified by everyone there. I felt another pang of remorse. She was so sheltered, and there I was, exposing her to the worst scum on the planet.

She gasped again as a short, squat man grabbed onto her hair.

"That's a lot of hair," he said in a deep, reverberating voice. He held his hands loosely around her golden locks, allowing them to slide through as Rapunzel walked away from him.

"She's growing it out," I responded. I glanced down at the man. "Is that blood in your mustache?" I asked happily. "Hey, Goldie, look at this. Look at all the blood in his mustache!"

But Rapunzel still wasn't paying attention to what I was saying. She was gathering up as much of her hair as she could, backing farther and farther into the corner.

"Good sir, that's a lot of blood," I continued.

Rapunzel jumped as she walked right into a very, very, very large man. He growled menacingly. She stepped away from him and spun around, pointing her pan in random directions. The poor thing was really edgy.

"Hey, you don't look so good, Blondie," I told her, walking over. Time for the final part of my plan. "Maybe we should get you home—call it a day. Probably better off." I put my arm around her and began to lead her toward the door. "This is a five-star joint after all, and if you can't handle this place, well, maybe you should be back in your tower."

We were almost out the door, but one of the really big guys slammed it shut just before we could leave. His hand was partially obscuring a "Wanted" poster, but it was easy to tell who the picture was supposed to be.

"Is this you?" the man grumbled. His index finger was covering the middle portion of the drawing, though there was no debating that it was me.

I gently removed the thug's finger and revealed the nose that had been drawn on my face. It was very large, making it look like there was an egg sticking out of my face. "Ugh, now they're just being mean," I mumbled.

"Oh, it's him alright," the hook-handed man said, approaching with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Greno," he barked to someone standing nearby. "Go find some guards. That reward's gonna buy me a new hook."

Then, someone else grabbed me, saying that he could use the money. Another person snatched me up, claiming that _he _should be the one to get the reward. Next thing I knew, I was caught in a nasty game of Grab-the-Rider as each one of these burly guys tried to claim me.

"Hey, we can work this out!" I shouted in a vain attempt to settle the crowd. My arms, legs, and hair were being pulled roughly in about ten different directions. Maybe coming here had been a bad idea.

"Hey, wait, leave him alone!" Rapunzel called to the mob, hitting the men on the outside with her frying pan. "Give me my guide!"

Three or four of these strong guys were now holding me in place while another bigger, stronger one was preparing to knock me out with a deadly punch.

"Not the nose; not the nose; not the nose," I pleaded, my voice raising an octave.

He swung his hand back and was ready to strike when there was a _thump_ as a dear's antler, hanging from a wall above, smashed against the back of his head. The man stopped, his arm still pulled back with his fist ready to hit.

"Put him down!" Rapunzel shrieked. Somehow she'd managed to snap the antler back, which, in all honesty, may have saved my life. All the thugs got quiet, and they snapped their heads around to face her. "Okay, I don't know where I am, and I need _him_"—she pointed to me—"to take me to see the lanterns because I've been _dreaming _about them my entire life. Find your humanity! Haven't any of you ever had a dream?"

Tough guys like this wouldn't be moved by a little speech like that, no matter how good or innocent the speaker was. But Rapunzel had tried. If I ever stopped fearing for my life, I'd feel even guiltier about tricking her into going there.

Hook-hand took out his very, very, very large axe and began to walk toward her. I forgot about myself momentarily and prayed that he wouldn't hurt her. She hadn't done anything wrong.

Much to my complete and utter surprise, Hook-hand looked off into the distance. "I had a dream once," he declared. He tossed his axe over at a nearby wall and began to sing—he actually started _singing_—about how he dreamed of being a famous pianist. I had to admit, this is _not _what I'd imagined him dreaming of.

Soon a bunch of other guys had joined into this bizarre show-tune. A large ugly man with a giant nose and a disproportionately small head began to sing about his dream of romance and true love. What did he think this was, a fairytale? There was no such thing as true love, but that didn't stop him from wishing for it.

The oaf that had been holding on to me decided to join the festivities. He distractedly hung me from the pair of antlers mounted on the wall. So there I was, hanging, watching all these big guys abandon their tough façades and discuss their deepest desires.

A man named Tor wanted to be a florist. Another called Gunther enjoyed interior design. Ulf was a mime. Atilla really liked baking cupcakes. Bruiser knitted, and Killer sewed. Fang put on puppet shows. And then there was Vladimir, who was perhaps the strangest of them all. He was by far the largest man there with the most intimidating presence, yet his dream was to collect ceramic unicorns. He held two tiny models in his hands and made them kiss.

This whole thing was so unreal. Rapunzel had managed to break through the tough-guy exterior and tap into the little girl inside each and every one of these men. I couldn't decide whether I was more impressed or creeped out by all of this.

"What about you?" Hook-hand suddenly asked me.

"I'm sorry, me?" I responded, surprised.

"What's your dream?" Big Nose inquired, stepping closer to where I was hanging. He lifted me down from the wall and placed me roughly on my feet.

"No, no, no," I said, waving my hands in front of me. "Sorry, boys, I don't sing."

About twenty large, razor-sharp, very pointy swords were pointed at my face as soon as I told them this. They seemed really determined to make me join in on this little choir session, and I wasn't one to argue when it was a choice between singing and death.

I quickly hopped onto the counter of the bar and began to do a little hop-step-dance-thing to keep them at ease. I opened my mouth and sang about my dreams. I told them that my hopes weren't quite as…touchy, feely as theirs were, but I did have some. I sang about the warm, sunny island I wished to buy, how I wanted to live there alone, surrounded by enormous piles of money.

The guys lifted me up and tossed me on top of a barrel while Rapunzel got up there and began to sing about her own dreams. She really only wanted to see the floating lanterns light the sky tomorrow night. She went on to say how glad she was that she left her tower and came down here on this adventure.

While she was finishing up her verse, I noticed a woman with dark, wild hair standing just outside a window, staring at Rapunzel with a look of vengeful disdain. What could possibly cause someone to feel like this toward _Rapunzel_ of all people?

I looked back out the window to get a better look at this strange lady, but she was gone. _Weird,_ I thought, though I quickly shoved this incident to the back of my mind as the guys busted out in another round of singing. During this time, they made a habit of tossing me around to different parts of the room. I ended up standing on top of a rolling barrel while many of the men were juggling fire on either side of me. One dude at the end even blew fire right in front of my face as I came toward him. I hopped down from the barrel and stood against the wall, almost getting hit by a little man who went flying out the window above my head.

The song finally drew to an end and everyone cheered for Rapunzel. I had to admit, she did a really good job with this whole situation.

But that moment of happiness ended. Greno, the guy who had been sent to fetch the police, walked through the door and announced, "I found the guards."

I grabbed Rapunzel's hand and pulled her under the bar with me just as the guards came into the room. Crap, this was just getting worse and worse.

"Where's Rider? Where is he?" one of the guards demanded. He walked around the room, pushing people around, hoping to bully them into giving me up. "I know he's in here somewhere. Find him; turn the place upside down if you have to."

This was it. I was finally going to get caught. These guys were going to tell them where Rapunzel and I were hiding. She'd go back to her tower and I'd get thrown in jail.

I peeked up over the counter and saw the guards leading in two prisoners—the Stabbington Brothers.

_Oh God, oh God, oh God, _I thought in a panic. _I'm going to get caught. The guards hate me. They'll ask for an execution. Oh God, I'm dead._ I knew that the guys in the room were going to rat me out. I understood that they needed the reward money. I could forgive them for that. But I really wasn't ready to die. I was dreading the moment that Big Nose or Ulfa or Vladimir would point down at the bar and tell the guards that I was under there.

But sometimes people can surprise you. Rapunzel surprised me with her ability to charm people into accepting her; the burly men surprised me when they confessed their shockingly feminine dreams; and now Hook-hand surprised me by opening a trapdoor that would lead me and Rapunzel away from this dangerous situation. He crawled down behind the counter with us and said, "Go, live your dream."

"I will," I assured him gratefully.

"Your dream stinks," he responded quickly. "I was talking to her."

Rapunzel thanked him for everything and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Then, the two of us turned and crawled into the passageway.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you guys for all the positive feedback I've been getting on the previous chapters. I really hope this one is as good. Please let me know if there's anything you think I should change or anything like that.**

**The movie skips from scene to scene. Should I just stick to writing only what's shown in the scenes or do you guys want me to write about some of the gaps that you don't see in the film? If you could let me know, that'd be great.**

**Thanks :)**

* * *

><p>We crawled on the dirt floor for awhile before the tunnel became wide enough and tall enough for the two of us to stand up comfortably. Rapunzel and I were silent for a bit. I didn't really know what to say, so I just looked around.<p>

I found a lantern hanging on one side of the passageway and picked it up, holding it out in front of us to light the way. There were a few skeletons and rusty swords littering the tunnel, making the place seem even more eerie.

I thought about how Rapunzel had stood up for me when all those guys wanted to turn me in. She could have easily ratted me out to the guards when they entered the Snuggly Duckling, but she didn't.

I felt like I needed to say something to her about this, to thank her.

Whoa, wait a second. Flynn Rider does not thank people.

But the urge to speak grew stronger. I had to at least say _something _to her, even if it wasn't a direct declaration of gratitude, so I said, "Well, I've got to say…didn't know you had that in you back there. That was pretty…impressive." It was weird giving people compliments. That wasn't something I made a habit of doing.

"I know!" Rapunzel shrieked ecstatically. She was obviously pretty proud of herself. She grinned up at me and realized that she'd come off too excited. She lowered her voice to a more nonchalant tone and said, "I know." She kept a soft smile on her face, the light from the lantern sparkling in her eyes.

I gave her a small grin back. She looked…adorable. I didn't think I'd ever thought of anyone as _adorable _before. Typically, the people I hung around with were big, mean and scary, not cute, sweet and innocent. Being with Rapunzel was a bit refreshing, to be honest.

"So, Flynn," she began. "Where are you from?"

"Whoa, whoa," I responded quickly, holding up my hand. There's something else you should know about me: I don't like talking about my past. It's not that it was particularly awful, but I just felt like giving someone that personal information was letting them get too close. "Sorry, Blondie, I don't do back-story." To change the focus off of me, I decided to question her. "However, I am becoming very interested in yours. Now, I know I'm not supposed to mention the hair—"

"Nope," Rapunzel replied with a wry grin.

"Or the mother?"

"Uh-uh."

"Frankly I'm too scared to ask about the frog…"

"Chameleon," she corrected.

Oh, so that's what it was. "Nuance," I replied with a dismissive wave of my hand. "Here's my question though: if you want to see the lanterns so badly, why haven't you gone before?" And this was something I really wanted to know. The whole thing just didn't add up.

"Uh…" She gave a nervous little laugh and glanced at the chameleon, as if asking for help. "Well…"

Her explanation was interrupted by a few rocks fell from the ceiling and landed on her head. Then, there was a sort of shaking that caused the very ground to rumble beneath us.

"Uh, Flynn," Rapunzel said anxiously, looking around for the source of this commotion.

Then, we saw them. The guards, running toward us at full speed, followed by what sounded like a horse. They were angry and looked even scarier than usual.

"Flynn!" Rapunzel shouted.

"Run," I told her. I pushed her so that she was in front of me and handed her the hair that was trailing along the dirt floor. "Run!" I lagged behind her a bit to make sure that none of her hair got caught on anything or stepped on by anyone.

Heart pounding in my ears, adrenaline coursing through my veins, I followed Rapunzel's sprinting figure until we saw a light up ahead. The tunnel ended and let out onto a large, flat area of rock. This was circular in shape and about ten stories high. There were a few other ledges scattered around as well as a large, wooden dam that was being supported by some beams that came to rest on the circular slab we were standing on. To the right of the tunnel was a water wheel that was channeling water into a long, wooden chute. The whole thing with the weathered rock and the rotting wood looked as though it could fall apart on us at any minute.

I put my arm around Rapunzel, keeping her close. There was no reason she should be hurt just because I was a wanted criminal. I led her over to the edge of the platform we were standing on. There was a long, precariously built ladder extending down the side of the rock, and once down there, we would be able to reach another tunnel, which looked like the only possible way to escape.

I was about to usher Rapunzel down the ladder when the Stabbington brothers busted through a blocked off passageway that was right next to our escape route. I gasped—in a very manly way, of course.

"Who's that?" Rapunzel asked, picking up my not-so-happy reaction to their presence.

"They don't like me," I replied simply, turning around to look for another way to get out of this mess.

That was when the guards came charging out of the tunnel, carrying torches and ready to fight.

"Who's _that_?" Rapunzel asked again.

"They don't like me either," I told her, an edge of panic in my voice.

A big white horse came bounding out of the passage directly after the guards. He whinnied and glared at me.

"Who's _that_?" she wondered once more, sounding just about as scared as I felt.

I put my hands on her shoulders. "Let's just assume for the moment that everyone in here doesn't like me." I was really starting to regret all the trouble I'd caused in the kingdom.

A determined look suddenly took over Rapunzel's face. "Here," she said, shoving the frying pan in my direction. She tossed her extremely long hair around a piece of wood jutting out of the chute. She then grabbed on and used her hair to swing over to a ledge across the way.

Now, don't get me wrong; I was glad she was safe and all, but I was feeling a little hurt that she'd just left me behind like that. Granted, I probably would have done the _exact _same thing had I been in her shoes, but still, I was upset.

"I've waited a long time for this," a guard said, drawing his sword and walking toward me.

I turned around, terrified. There didn't seem to be any way to get myself out of this. I was completely trapped, armed with nothing but a stinking frying pan.

But I would not go down without a fight. I got myself ready, and as the guard came closer to me, I swung the pan and smacked him in the face. It was pretty brilliant, if I do say so myself. Three more guards came at me, each trying to jab me with their swords, and each of them met the same fate as the first. When I'd finished knocking out the last guy, I looked down at the frying pan in impressed disbelief.

"Oh, mama, I have got to get me one of _these_," I said cheerfully, holding up the pan and staring at it in admiration.

My spirits were so high that when I found yet another sword pointed at me, I felt invincible.

"Ha!" I cried, holding the pan up to face the blade.

My joy was interrupted, however, when I realized that my opponent was none other than…the horse? The animal must have found a sword on the ground and picked it up. He was now swinging the weapon in front of me, trying to get me to fight him.

I was so confused that I was almost unable to defend myself when the beast leapt toward me and jabbed the sword. Luckily, I regained enough control over my body to throw the pan above my head to deflect the blows. I soon found myself engaged in the most peculiar fight ever: man armed with frying pan versus horse armed with sword.

I noticed Rapunzel staring at us from the ledge she had landed on. I was almost surprised that she had stuck around, but then I remembered that she was a better person than I was. She wouldn't just leave me stranded to save herself, not the way I would.

"You should know," I called to her, "that this is the strangest thing I've _ever _done."

I blocked another jab by the horse, but he took that opportunity to use the sword to fling the pan out of my hands. My only weapon landed at the bottom of the cliff with a metallic _clang_.

I stared at it as the frying pan traveled down to its demise. "How about two out of three?" I suggested hopefully, nervousness evident in my voice.

The horse responded by pointing the sword about an inch away from my throat. I quickly held my hands up in a sign of surrender.

"Flynn!" I heard Rapunzel call to me.

The next thing I knew, a familiar soft, golden rope was wrapped around my right hand. I stared at the hair for a moment before I realized Rapunzel's plan. She gave a might tug on her hair, and I saluted the horse before being yanked off of the ledge. I hung on for dear life as I swung lower and lower toward the ground.

"Flynn, look out!" Rapunzel cried.

A few feet in front of me, the Stabbington brothers were looking at me with malice in their eyes. I tried—and failed—to remain calm as I came their way. I lifted my feet as they each attempted to get me with their swords. As I slowly started to swing higher, I turned around with a feeling of cocky indestructibility.

"Ha!" I shouted at the brothers. "You should see your faces because you look—"

My sentence was cut short as a long piece of wood collided with my stomach. I folded around the beam as the air in my lungs was knocked out. _Ow_ was my only thought.

"—ridiculous," I finished in a strained voice.

After about a minute I was able to climb up on top of the beam. It was part of the long chute. I climbed into the slide with water rushing around my ankles and kept a tight grip on the end of Rapunzel's hair.

The horse began kicking one of the beams that was supporting the dam. He finally managed to break that piece of wood away and it fell, creating a bridge between the ledge where he was and the one Rapunzel was on.

"Come on, Blondie," I cried out to her, holding tighter onto her hair. "Jump."

Rapunzel took a fleeting look back at the approaching horse before she leapt off of the platform and swung below the shoot. She skidded to a stop in a puddle of water, and I let go of her hair, allowing her to run.

The Stabbington brothers were chasing after her as she bolted toward the passageway in the side of the rock, the one that would lead to our escape. I followed above her by sliding down the chute, allowing myself to flow with the water.

Remember what I said earlier about the whole thing looking like it would fall apart? Well, that's exactly what was happening. The lumber started to separate, and the chute swayed dangerously. I did my best to make it as close to the bottom as I could before the whole thing collapsed. I was about fifteen feet off the ground when the chute finally broke apart completely. The fall caused me to stumble a bit, but I kept running, collecting Rapunzel's flowing hair as we made our way toward the tunnel.

The beam that the horse broke down to make that bride turned out to be an important part of the dam's structural stability. The wood planks that formed it were now separating, allowing a great flood of water to make its way into the little valley.

Rapunzel and I kept running, racing against the oncoming wave. It tore down a large pillar of rock. Now we were not only trying to out-sprint the water but also a stone column that was falling at an alarmingly fast rate.

The tunnel was getting closer and closer. We were almost there. The shadow of the rock was blocking out the sunlight overhead, and I could feel a bit of water licking the bottom of my shoes. Finally, we managed to slide into the passageway, expecting to find an easy escape.

But there was none to be found.


	7. Chapter 7

We were trapped. The pillar of rock had blocked off the entrance to the little cave that Rapunzel and I were now sitting in. Water was seeping into the surrounding area at an alarmingly fast rate. We climbed up on a higher portion of stone as a temporary escape from the flooding of the cave.

I didn't want to die like that. I'd always imagined myself dying at a young age, but not like this. Not trapped in a cave, defenseless against the incoming waves. I was going to go out in style. My life couldn't end like this.

I started to look around frantically, searching for any means of escape. I couldn't find any, so with a brief glance back at Rapunzel, I dove into the water, hoping to find some sort of hole down there. As I immersed myself in the flood, I opened my eyes, glancing in every direction. But it was no use. Everything was hopelessly dark. I surfaced to get another breath before returning to the depths, but this attempt proved to be just as futile as the last.

My panic began to reach new heights. There was no way out. We were trapped, breathing our last breaths. I climbed up to the area where Rapunzel was standing. She was desperately banging the frying pan against the walls of the cave, hoping to find us an escape.

I took a step back and then slammed my body against the rock opposite me. The thing wouldn't budge. I smashed into the other wall, shoving my shoulder into the stone. Again, nothing happened. I started urgently pulling at all the surrounding rocks, trying to get one to come loose. I kept this up until a particularly sharp stone gave me a nasty gash across the palm of my hand. I looked down at the wound, blood slowly oozing out. It stung terribly. At least this pain meant I was still alive, something I wouldn't have much longer.

I realized that there was no way out up there. I dove down once more in a desperate, hopeless attempt to find something I'd missed, a hidden tunnel or anything of that nature. I was once again surrounded by a terrible blackness. I could hear the rushing of the water masking a dull banging noise, letting me know that Rapunzel was still hitting the pan against the rock.

I emerged from the flooded area and stumbled onto the area where Rapunzel stood.

"It's no use," I told her breathlessly. "I can't see anything." The panic was very evident in my voice. I wanted to be stronger, to act like the tough guy I pretended to be, but I just couldn't bring myself to keep up the act, not when death was this near.

Rapunzel took a big breath and dove down, probably hoping to find something I missed. I went under after her, pulling her back up. She didn't need to waste her energy on fruitless searches.

I kept my hands on her shoulders as I brought us both back to the surface. I wanted to make sure she didn't dive again. "Hey," I said. "There's no point. It's pitch-black down there."

She had her head angled slightly downward, causing some of her hair to fall in front of her face. I gently brushed it back, staring intently at her. This may sound weird, but I was glad that if I had to die with someone, it was her. In the end, I didn't want to be Flynn Rider, the infamous thief; I wanted to feel more genuine, more…well, more like me.

She moved away from me, backing against the rock wall behind us. Her eyes widened with sudden fear and shame. I sighed sadly, really wishing that the two of us had more time. I leaned back against the rock beside her, shutting my eyes.

"This is all my fault," she said in a tormented whisper. Her voice broke, and I could sense some tears coming on. "She was right: I never should've done this."

I opened my eyes and stared at the water, not ready to see Rapunzel's weeping face quite yet. Her crying was soft, hopeless. We sat there for a bit, taking in the disparity of our situation. I noticed the temperature dropping and wrapped my arms around myself to keep warm. Not that it would do much good—the steadily rising water would kill me soon anyway.

"I'm so…I'm so sorry, Flynn," she choked out tearfully.

No…she was too good, too pure, too innocent to ever feel this much guilt about something. Plus, it wasn't even her fault. If I wasn't a no good thief, the guards wouldn't have chased us. If I wasn't such a manipulative, self-centered moron, I never would have taken her to the Snuggly Duckling in the first place. This was _my _fault _way _more than it was hers.

But I couldn't find words enough to express this, so instead I softly responded, "Eugene."

"What?" she asked, confused. At least this had caused a momentary pause in her heart-wrenching sobs.

I took a breath to prepare myself. I'd never told anyone this before, but seeing as I was about to die, I decided to take a leap and trust Rapunzel with this information. I leaned closer to her and said, "My real name is Eugene Fitzherbert." Then, to explain my sudden desire to trust, I added, "Someone might as well know."

Rapunzel giggled. Her tears had stopped, thankfully. I didn't know how much more of that I could handle. "I have magic hair that glows when I sing."

Wait, what? I couldn't have heard that right. "What?" I thought I had to be going insane.

The remaining fear and sadness in Rapunzel's eyes disappeared quickly, and it was replaced by something new…hope. "I have magic hair that _glows _when I _sing_," she cried excitedly, stroking her hair.

By now, the water was up to our necks and rising higher every second. Rapunzel sensed this urgency and began to sing:

_Flower, gleam and glow;_

_Let your power shine…_

The rest of the song was cut off. She took a big breath and went under, leading me down with her. Soon, the two of us were completely submerged in the water. There was that familiar darkness, swallowing us up. But this only lasted for a moment, because soon a golden light began to shine.

It was coming from Rapunzel's hair. It started at her roots, spreading down along the length of her locks and ending at the very tip.

I screamed, not remembering that I was under water. Hundreds of tiny bubbles escaped from my mouth, but I quickly put my hand over my lips to prevent further exiting of air. I stared at the sight before me, full of utter shock. In the golden light, I noticed the chameleon, floating by with a grin on his face. He was enjoying my confusion.

But I didn't have long to think about the total _weirdness _of this all. Instead, my attention was distracted by a portion of Rapunzel's hair that seemed to be sucked toward a pile of rocks.

Rapunzel and I shared a brief, knowing glance before I hurriedly swam toward these stones.

We'd found our way out.


	8. Chapter 8

The water felt heavier, colder, as I made my way over toward the pile of rocks. I couldn't hold my breath much longer. The need for oxygen was becoming more evident. I hurriedly pushed and shoved the stones, hoping that one of them would come loose. There was a way out right behind the rocks—there had to be.

I pulled one of the larger stones and it came loose. My celebration was very, very short-lived as I took a small, involuntary breath. Water filled my mouth, and I knew I could definitely not survive down here for more than a minute. I started to pull at the rocks more desperately, forcing them to fall away. Eventually, I stuck my hand through the pile, and it was greeted by something so familiar and so urgently needed: fresh air. I moved my arm around until my fingers made contact with a rock that seemed to be supporting all the others. I quickly pushed it out of the way and the pile of stones gave way under the pressure of the water in the cave.

Rapunzel and I flowed out along with the rest of the flood. We were ushered out of the cave, dropping about six feet until we reached a calm, still lake below.

We were alive. We hadn't drowned. We had gotten out of there, still breathing. And it was all thanks to Rapunzel's magic, glowing hair.

_This must be what insanity feels like_, I thought as I swam to the surface of the lake. I paddled over toward the nearby shore, wondering how something this _impossible_ could be the thing that saved my life. How could this be real? This wasn't a fairytale. People weren't supposed to have magic powers.

I coughed in an effort to get some of the water out of my lungs. I grabbed onto the grass, still halfway in the water, still thinking about what just happened.

Rapunzel and her sopping wet hair emerged from the watery depths beside me. She put the pan on the grass in front of her and the chameleon right next to it.

"We made it," Rapunzel said quietly, sounding almost unsure.

"Her hair glows," I responded. This was the only thought occupying my mind. I simply couldn't think, let alone speak, about anything else.

"We're alive," Rapunzel continued. I could hear the joy in her voice. "We're alive!" She grabbed the frying pan and heaved herself up so that she was completely out of the water. She walked around a bit in front of me, still evidently amazed at our survival.

"Didn't see that coming," I added, not really paying attention to what my companion was saying. Why was she not bothered that her hair _glowed_? Honestly, this was not supposed to happen…ever!

"Eugene," Rapunzel said, though I couldn't really hear her.

I turned to the chameleon. "The hair actually glows," I told him, not even realizing how odd it was that I was talking to a lizard.

"Eugene," she repeated impatiently.

The chameleon grinned up at me, enjoying my confusion. "Why does her hair glow?" I demanded, almost shouting at the little animal.

"_Eugene!_" Rapunzel cried, finally getting my attention.

I looked up at her, still a bit freaked out by the glowing hair. "What?" I yelled back.

She took a moment to respond, fishing the remainder of her hair out of the lake. When she was finally ready, she slowly answered, "It doesn't just glow."

What else could it possibly do? I was starting to calm down a bit, but questions like these were still running through my mind. I glanced down at the chameleon, wondering if he would tell me what other talents her golden locks possessed. He grinned mischievously at me.

"Why is he smiling at me?" I asked, almost at the point of a mental breakdown. This whole thing was far too much for one person to handle. How could I be expected to recover after having all this information dumped on me like that?

Rapunzel's expression softened. Her eyes were full of concern and something else…pity. She felt sorry for me. She didn't want me to deal with all of this. She understood what I was going through. She had empathy.

My breakdown was halted as a piercing guilt took hold of me. I had been planning to ditch her as soon as we stopped for the night. Her sympathy, the way she cared for me, regardless of my past, made me regret the person I was. But I was Flynn Rider…I just had to push all these thoughts out of my mind.

I was in the process of ridding myself of my guilt when Rapunzel walked over toward me. She held out her hand, offering to help me get out of the lake. I ignored this and pulled myself up on my own. When I put my hand down on the grass, I noticed the horrible, aching pain that was coming from my palm. I recalled how the rock had cut me and wondered whether or not I could find some bandages any time soon. This thing was really hurting.

"S-so what else can your hair do?" I asked nervously, not sure if I really wanted to know.

"It might be easier if I just show you," she responded, walking toward the nearby forest.

"O-okay." I wasn't sure what to say next, so rather than continuing the conversation, I picked up a few fallen branches off the ground. "Firewood," I mumbled as an explanation.

"That's a great idea." Rapunzel followed my lead and began to collect sizable pieces of wood.

Soon, we reached a small clearing in the middle of the trees. I tossed my bundle of branches down and indicated for Rapunzel to do the same. I then worked on organizing the wood in a way that would allow the fire to burn big and bright. I took a small matchbook out of my pocket and struck a match, watching the small flame light up the surrounding darkness. I tossed the match into the stack of wood and watched the small flickering slowly grow larger.

A large root stuck out of the ground in the space around the fire. Rapunzel and I sat there, though we continued to sit in silence for quite some time. We stared at the flames before us. Night had fallen over the forest, and our little fire was the only source of light in the immediate area.

Ten minutes passed.

Another ten flew by without the slightest attempt at conversation.

By the time more than half an hour had passed, we had not spoken a single word to each other.

At first, this perpetual quiet had been pensive, each of us examining our own thoughts, but now I was starting to get bored. I _needed _to talk to Rapunzel about all the weird things that were going on, but I wasn't sure how to start that discussion.

I readjusted myself on the tree root, finding my current position uncomfortable. As my palm came in contact with the wood, I gasped and winced. I had almost forgotten how bad it hurt to touch anything with that hand. I glanced down at the nasty cut that ran along the length of my palm, hoping that it wouldn't get infected.

Rapunzel scooted a bit closer to me. She reached out and held my injured hand in both of her own. She examined the gash in the dim light of the fire. After a moment, she said, "I guess it's time for me to show you what else my hair can do."

I felt my heart rate go way up. I was almost scared to find out what other magical powers she had. This was too unreal for me to handle.

Rapunzel didn't wait for a response. Instead, she gathered up the very end of her hair, wrapping it tightly around my palm.

"So," I said as she continued this work. "You're being strangely cryptic as you wrap your magic hair around my injured hand." She accidentally pulled the hair too tightly around my palm. I winced. "Ow."

Much to my surprise, Rapunzel winced as well. Her eyes filled with an odd combination of distress and remorse. "Sorry," she responded, finally finished bandaging my wound with her hair. She sighed and analyzed my expression. "Just…don't-don't freak out," she told me slowly, allowing each word to sink in.

Why would she expect me to freak out? I was really starting to worry at that point. I glanced nervously down at my wrapped hand, then back at Rapunzel. Here's a helpful tip: never tell someone not to freak out; this inevitably leads to that person imagining every worse-case scenario.

Rapunzel took a deep breath, shut her eyes, and once again began to sing:

_Flower, gleam and glow_

_Let your power shine._

_Make the clock reverse._

_Bring back what once was mine_

The familiar golden light began to spread throughout Rapunzel's hair again. It started at her roots, glimmering fantastically against the darkness of the night. My anxiety, though still present in small amounts, wasn't as pronounced as I'd expected it to be. I followed the trail of light as it traveled through Rapunzel's hair, wondering nervously what it would feel like once it reached the part wrapped around my palm.

To make matters worse, the little chameleon was still grinning at me. He raised one of his feet and pointed to it, indicating that I should look back at my own hand. That didn't really help me stay calm.

The light had reached the end of her hair, and I could feel it winding around my palm. The hair grew warmer, softer, and there was an odd, tingling feeling that it left.

_Heal what has been hurt._

_Change the fate's design._

I looked anxiously at Rapunzel, wishing she would explain this all. What was happening?

_Save what has been lost._

_Bring back what once was mine,_

_What once was mine._

The song finished, and the light faded from Rapunzel's hair. She opened her eyes and looked up at me, assessing my reaction. I lifted my hand up and slowly unwound the hair that was covering it. My heart was beating faster and faster as I wondered what had happened, what her hair had done.

I let out a strangled little noise. The skin where the gash had previously been was now completely refreshed, new, healthy. There wasn't even a scar left behind.

My mind was utterly incoherent for a moment as I struggled to process this. How the heck had this happened? This was ridiculous! How could _hair_ glow _and _magically heal wounds without leaving a trace of the injury behind?

I opened my mouth, ready to shout. There was no way any of this was even remotely possible.

"Please don't freak out," Rapunzel urged quickly.

I tried to swallow my scream. A piece of advice: never try to do that. My voice came out about an octave higher and much more strained than usual when I hurriedly responded, "I'm not freaking out. Are you freaking out? No, I'm just very interested in your hair and the magical qualities that it possesses. How long has it been doing that exactly?" This was just a lame attempt to cover up my very un-masculine momentary breakdown. I rested my chin in my palm but soon remembered how that hand had just been magically transformed and pulled my face away from it. I tucked my hands inside my armpits and rocked nervously, all too aware how insane I looked at the moment.

"Uh, forever, I guess," Rapunzel responded, kindly ignoring my momentary anxiety. She smiled sweetly, which oddly calmed me down quite a bit. "Mother says when I was a baby people tried to cut it. They wanted to take it for themselves." She pulled back on side of her hair and revealed a piece much shorter and darker than the rest. "But once it's cut, it turns brown and loses its power. A gift like that…it has to be protected. That's why mother never let me…that's why I never left…"

I immediately forgot about everything I'd been freaking out over. I felt so bad for her. "You never left that tower," I said quietly, speaking slowly. She glanced back at me, solemnity in her expression. "And you're still going to go back?" I didn't understand how she could just go back, especially after being out in the world like she was today.

"No," she responded, determined. But her countenance softened into something less motivated and more confused. "Yes? Ugh, it's complicated." She put her head in her hands, completely covering her face.

I felt so bad for her. She deserved an easy life, living wherever she wanted, doing whatever she wanted, not this "complicated" one.

Finally, she lifted her head out of her hands, brushing back her hair. She sighed, allowing all of life's complexities to simply disappear. "So, Eugene Fitzherbert, huh?"

I smiled, almost regretting sharing this little bit of information with her. Almost. "Uh, yeah, well, I'll spare you the sob story of poor orphan Eugene Fitzherbert…it's a little bit of a…well, it's a little bit of a downer." This was true. I didn't have a great childhood. I always dreamed of having a better, more exciting life, one full of adventure and happiness and freedom…one that would allow me to escape the sadness, pain, and loneliness of my own.

Rapunzel scooted much closer to me so that we were only about three inches apart. She rested her chin in her hands and looked up at me with attentive eyes.

I found myself _wanting _to share my story with her. I really wanted to just talk about this with someone. I'd never trusted anyone enough to let them this close before, but now that she knew part of it, I found no reason not to open up completely.


	9. Chapter 9

"There was this book, a book I used to read every night to all the younger kids—_The Tales of Flynnigan Rider_. Swashbuckling rogue, richest man alive, not bad with the ladies either, not that he'd ever brag about it of course."

"Was he a thief too?" Rapunzel asked.

"Uh, well, no," I responded. I felt a little ashamed of my profession, wishing that I could have been as wealthy as Flynnigan Rider without having to steal. "Actually, he had enough money to do anything that he wanted to do. He could go anywhere that he wanted to go. A-And…and for a kid, with nothing…I don't know…it just seemed like the better option."

"Hm."

I leaned closer to Rapunzel. "You can't tell anyone about this, okay? It could ruin my whole reputation." It _could _have ruined my reputation, but I really didn't want Rapunzel to say anything because, well, this was _our_ secret. No one else had the right to know this information.

"Ah, we wouldn't want that," Rapunzel teased.

"Well, a fake reputation is all a man has," I responded with a grin, inclining my heas toward her.

She giggled. Then, she lifted her head and smiled at me, her big, green eyes piercing right into the depths of my soul. She knew who I was and what I had done, but she looked at me with acceptance and without judgment. I wasn't used to that. She trusted me completely. This may have been foolish and naïve, but it also made me feel that maybe I could be _worthy _of this trust. Maybe I could be a better person.

I felt a faint blush rise to my cheeks. I looked away and cleared my throat, ruining the moment. I really hated myself for doing that, but I needed some time to think. "Well, I should, uh…I-I should…I should get some more firewood," I lied lamely. The fire was still burning quite brightly, but I rose from my seat and began to walk away.

"Hey," she said softly. When I turned around, she continued, "For the record, I like Eugene Fitzherbert _much _better than Flynn Rider."

I blushed again. I really wasn't used to people being so nice to me. "Well," I responded, dropping my gaze. "Then you'd be the first…but thank you."

I turned around and into the darkness of the forest. Within a minute, the blackness of the night had swallowed me completely. I stumbled over toward a nearby tree and sat down, leaning against its trunk.

I had planned to go back on our deal and betray her trust. But could I really go through with that? I thought about everything Rapunzel and I had done together since the beginning of this adventure. I thought about how caring and sweet and _good _she was. I remembered the twinkling in her eyes I'd seen just before I walked away. Could I really stab her in the back like I'd planned to? Those eyes, those sweet, caring eyes, lighting up the face of a good, innocent, pure young girl…well, they made me rethink my plan. I couldn't betray her like that. She was far too good to ever be treated that way. I would just have to stay and keep the deal. I'd get back the crown when this whole thing was over.

For the first time in my life, I was going to put someone else's desires before my own.

This was the first step to becoming a better human being. I really wanted to change. Rapunzel, who looked at me without judgment, was the one who made me feel most ashamed of myself. I really wanted to be as good as she was, though I highly doubted that achieving that level of kindness was possible.

But this was a new beginning. Back in the cave, when I'd thought we were going to drown, I was pleased to tell Rapunzel my real name. It made me feel more genuine, more real, more like myself. And that's what I was going to be. From that moment on, I would give up this cocky, selfish persona. I'd stop betraying people to get what I wanted. I'd be a better person. I'd be an honest thief (Yes, I would still be a thief…it was the only life I knew).

I was no longer Flynn Rider. No, now I was Eugene Fitzherbert…I was going to change.

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><p><strong>Sorry this chapter is so much shorter than the others. The one before this was really long, so I decided to make this one a bit smaller to balance it out.<strong>

**Please review and let me know what you think. Also, if you have any suggestions for what should happen during the scenes that the movie doesn't cover, I'd really appreciate them. Thanks :)**


	10. Chapter 10

I was feeling pretty good as I gathered up a few bits of firewood. I felt more real, more genuine, and I couldn't have done it without Rapunzel. Now, don't get confused here. I wasn't changing because of her; I was changing because of the person she was. She was…well, perfect, and she made me ashamed of my terrible morals and low standards. That's why I was changing.

I picked up all of the wood I had gathered and began to make my way toward our campsite. When the light of the fire came into view, I shouted to Rapunzel, "Hey, uh, can I ask you something? Is there any chance that I'm going to get super strength in my hand? Because I'm not going to lie, that would be stupendous."

I grinned, waiting for her to respond. I stopped walking when I was about a foot away from the fire. Rapunzel was standing on the opposite side of it with her back to me, staring off into the forest.

"Hey," I said, a bit concerned when she remained silent. I dropped my flippant tone and added, "Are you alright?"

Her head snapped around. She looked at me as if she hadn't realized that I was there. "Oh, sorry, yes." She turned to face me and continued, "Just, um, lost in thought I guess."

She dropped her gaze. I could tell that something was bothering her, something she didn't really want to share with me. I could see it in her eyes: worry, uneasiness, and a bit of fear. What could have shaken her up so much? I was only gone for about ten minutes. I was about to ask her about it when I realized that it may have been something really personal. She'd tell me if she wanted me to know, and it would be wrong of me to push her into sharing.

Instead, I shrugged as if I accepted her explanation. I made it my mission to lighten the mood a bit, hopefully making her feel a bit more comfortable. I put down the wood and said, "I mean because here's the thing: superhuman good-looks—I've always had them, born with it. But superhuman strength, imagine the possibilities of it!"

Rapunzel giggled as I added some wood to the fire. "I don't really know. I've never really healed anyone before. I mean, I knew that my hair could do that, but I don't ever see people that are hurt...I never really see _anyone_ besides Mother…"

Her voice trailed off and that bit of fear returned to her features.

I cleared my throat, pulling her attention back on to me. "Don't get too many visitors up in that tower, eh? Well, no worries. We'll just see what happens to my hand over the next twenty-four hours." I sighed happily, thinking of what I'd do with super strength.

An owl hooted softly from a tree nearby. I was pulled out of my cheerful thoughts, and I looked around. The fire was still burning nicely, so my extra wood wasn't really necessary at all. I glanced up and noticed that Rapunzel was staring at me with a soft smile on her lips. I grinned back and she hurriedly looked away. Weird.

"Well, Blondie, I don't know about you, but I'm _beat_," I told her, leaning against a tree. "This has been a very…interesting—"

"Complicated?" Rapunzel offered.

"Yeah, an interesting, _complicated_ day…" I thought about everything that had happened within the course of the past few hours. Too many adventurous, life-changing things had taken place. It almost didn't seem possible that I'd only stumbled across the hidden tower that morning. "Well, anyway, we should get some rest. Big day tomorrow."

Rapunzel smiled. "Thank you, Eugene, really. Thanks for, you know, putting up with me and doing all of this."

I shrugged and grinned. "No problem. It's been pretty fun so far. Well, it was fun when we weren't almost dying or being chased or anything like that."

She giggled and sat down on the floor, arranging her hair in a circle around her. "Goodnight, Eugene."

On the other side of the fire, I laid down as well. "Sweet dreams, Rapunzel. See you in the morning," I murmured idly as I pulled a rock under my head to serve as a pillow.

To think, I'd been planning on leaving at that point. As soon as Rapunzel fell asleep, I was going to betray her, grab my satchel, and split. But now, I really just wanted her to see the lanterns. She deserved to have that. Plus, I'd made a very fatal mistake that would prevent me from ditching: I'd developed an attachment to her. She was no longer the annoying little girl I was being forced to babysit. No, now she was Rapunzel, the young woman who inspired me to be better, who showed how sweet, naïve and innocent everyone else should be.

With these thoughts in mind, I slowly emerged into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Something cold and wet hit my cheek. I twitched a bit but ignored it. Then another drop splashed on the side of my face. I groggily pulled myself out of the deep sleep I'd entered and opened my eyes.

"What?" I mumbled lazily.

I looked up to find that it was water dripping onto my cheek. It was coming from the large, wet white horse glaring over me. The drops would slide off the end of his nose and splash on the side of my face.

This horse was same one who chased me through the woods until I found refuge in Rapunzel's tower. He also was the one that fought me by holding a dagger in his mouth.

"Well, I hope you're here to apologize," I said, resting my head against my rock-pillow. I really wanted to go back to sleep, to return to that peace.

But that didn't happen. Apparently, the horse didn't like what I said. He bit my foot and began to pull in an attempt to drag me away. Well, when I say "attempt," I really mean that he _succeeded_ in dragging me away.

"Ah!" I shouted. "No, no, no, put me down!"

I saw Rapunzel spring up from where she'd been laying. My screams woke her up, and she came running over to help me. I was trying vainly to find something to hold on to, but nothing helped. The horse was pulling me toward a part of the forest that could potentially lead back to the kingdom.

"Let. Me. Go!" I commanded, though the animal didn't seem to care about my pleas.

Rapunzel grabbed my arms and pulled. I held on to her for dear life. She was actually _quite_ strong for a girl of her size.

"Give me him," she said.

She tugged harder and harder until I finally came loose. My foot popped out of my boot, which remained in the horse's mouth. I was flipped over Rapunzel's head and landed with a _thud_ on the hard ground. The horse began to gallop fiercely back toward me, a terrifying sort of determination in his eyes. I backed up against a tree, trying to get as far away as possible.

"Whoa!" Rapunzel called, standing up in front of the stampeding animal.

What was she doing? She could get herself killed! But then I realized that she was saving my life yet again. This girl was fantastic.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," she repeated, holding her hands up. The horse slowed to a stop right in front of her. He tried to sidestep her, but she moved with him, blocking his path to me every time. "Whoa, whoa, easy, boy, easy. Settle down. Whoa." She continued to speak calmly to the horse, trying to get it to calm down. And it actually seemed to be working. "Easy, boy, easy, easy." The horse stopped trying to get around her and instead paid attention to what she was saying. "That's it," she said to him. "Now sit." The horse lowered its backside but didn't completely submit. "_Sit_," she repeated, a bit more harshly. He finally plopped himself down all the way.

"What?" I said. How could she get everything and everyone to do whatever she wanted? This was _insane_. It was a _horse_, not a dog, so why was it acting like a trained house pet?

"Now drop the boot," Rapunzel told it, smiling at her success so far. She seemed rather pleased with herself. "Drop it." The horse reluctantly obeyed. "Oh, you're such a good boy," she cooed, petting his nose affectionately. "Yes you are." The horse wagged its tail…just like a dog. This was ridiculous. "Aw, are you all tired from chasing this bad man all over the place?" The horse nodded.

"Excuse me?" I cried, though no one was paying any attention to me at all.

"Nobody appreciates you, do they? Do they?" Rapunzel spoke to the horse the same way one would speak to an infant. She hugged him.

"Come on," I shouted. "He's a bad horse!"

This time Rapunzel heard what I was saying. She turned to me, still stroking the horse's nose. "He's nothing but a big sweetheart," she assured me. "Isn't that right?" She glanced at a collar-like thing around the horse's neck. "Maximus." He whinnied affectionately.

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered. How could this horse—the same one that had been on a mission to turn me in—trick Rapunzel into thinking he was a "big sweetheart?"

Maximus suddenly grew rigid and glared at me when he heard the sound of my voice.

"Look," Rapunzel said to him, lifting his head so that he was staring at her, not me. "Today is kind of the _biggest _day of my life, and the thing is, I need you not to get him arrested." She walked over to me and lifted me up, hanging on to my arm and pulling me closer to Maximus. The horse narrowed his eyes and I glowered back. "Just for twenty-four hours and then you can chase each other to your hearts' content, okay?"

The glaring contest continued for a moment, but then I remembered how important this would be to Rapunzel. I sighed and held my hand up, waiting for the horse to shake it. Maximus turned his head away, clearly refusing to agree to even a temporary truce.

"And it's also my birthday," Rapunzel murmured loud enough for the horse to hear. "Just so you know."

Maximus sighed loudly. He turned to face me again and shoved his hoof into my hand. We stood there like that, still staring fiercely at one another. Rapunzel walked through our little handshake after something apparently caught her attention. Both Maximus and I watched her as she made her way over toward a brilliant blue butterfly that had landed on a rock.

I was reflecting on how peaceful she looked as she knelt down beside the creature when I felt the powerful force of a hoof colliding with my stomach.

"Oof," I muttered breathlessly as I doubled over.

I heard Maximus laughing as he trotted away to join Rapunzel.

This was going to be a _long _day.


	11. Chapter 11

Rapunzel, Maximus and I were walking down a faint path that would hopefully lead us toward Corona. I wanted the chance to show Rapunzel around the kingdom before the lanterns came out later that night, and she was eager to see everything she could.

She led the way, skipping merrily along the little trail. Every once in awhile, she would stop to sniff a flower or to pick up a ladybug. The whole thing radiated childish excitement that was a bit contagious. I found myself smiling while she twirled a piece of her hair between her delicate fingers as she pranced onward.

Maximus sniggered from my side. I rolled my eyes at him. The horse had insisted on keeping me within a three foot radius. He was clearly afraid that I would run, and considering my past record, I couldn't really blame him for thinking that. Still, ditching Rapunzel at this point was completely out of the question.

"Ow!" Rapunzel exclaimed as Maximus accidentally stepped on a piece of her hair.

He whinnied apologetically, and she immediately forgave him.

As we continued walking, I bent down and began collecting the majority of her long, golden locks. We continued like that for quite some time: Rapunzel in the lead, dancing along cheerfully; Maximus glaring at me from my right, making sure I wouldn't escape; and me, giving up my manly appearance as I served as a caddy for her endless hair.

Eventually, the trees surrounding the path began to thin out, and we were able to see the spectacular kingdom before us. It was situated on an island in the middle of a large lake that was connected to the rest of the land by a series of stone bridges. The path we'd taken ended about fifty feet in front of one of these bridges.

Rapunzel wasted no time at all. She flashed an ecstatic grin back at me and Maximus before running off, full-speed, in the direction of the kingdom. As she continued to sprint, the length of her hair began to slide out of my arms, following behind her. By the time she stopped moving long enough for me and the horse to catch up, I was no longer carrying any of her hair at all.

I ran alongside Maximus as we struggled to keep up with Rapunzel. She stopped right before the bridge, happiness radiating from her whole being.

She smiled at me and silently mouthed, "Wow."

I grinned back. Seeing her this excited, this pleased was actually causing me to feel a bit happier myself. I really wanted this visit to live up to her expectations. After all, this _was _the biggest day of her life. I didn't want it to disappoint her.

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><p><strong>Sorry that this is a <em>super <em>short chapter. I didn't have a lot of time to write it. I just wanted to let you guys know that I might not update for the next few weeks. AP Exams are coming up and I _really _need to study. I probably could have gone without including this chapter, but I didn't want to leave you with absolutely nothing. Alright, well review and let me know what you think!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey, guys. So a lot of you have been telling me that at the end of Chapter 10 Rapunzel is distracted by the kingdom and not by a butterfly or whatever I put. I'm aware of that. Because the kingdom is so close, there would be no need for Chapter 11 in this story. I wanted to include Chapter 11 so I just decided to make her distracted by something else. This way, Eugene, Rapunzel, Max and Pascal still had to find their way to the kingdom, and I could add the chapter.**

**Alright, well, enough about that. I'm really sorry that this wasn't posted sooner, but I've been a bit busy. _Please_ review, especially on this chapter. I wrote it in segments so it might not flow as nicely as the others, but let me know what I need to change and I'll be sure to fix it. Thanks :)**

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><p>As Rapunzel cheerily pranced across the bridge leading into Corona, I trailed behind her, far more interested in her excitement than in the actual kingdom. A piece of paper hanging on the bridge's wall caught my attention. It was another "Wanted" poster with my face plastered all over it. I tore off the abomination (they <em>still <em>couldn't get my nose right) and crumpled it up. I turned to see that Maximus was glaring at me, his face a few mere inches away from mine. I grinned at the horse and shoved the crumpled poster into his mouth.

I was quite pleased with myself at that moment, and I paused to bask in the ridiculousness of the Max's expression. Unfortunately, he wasn't one to just take something like that. He spat out the paper and it stuck to my face, spread out so that that horrid picture was staring outward.

I tore the sheet from my face and tossed it aside. I then gave Maximus a little shove, which he reciprocated. Regardless of who actually started the fight, I wanted to be the one to finish it, so I shoved him again—a bit harder this time. This led to the horse butting his head into my stomach. I leapt toward him, grabbed hold of his neck, and was fully prepared to punch his nose, while Max took advantage of my proximity and held my leg in his mouth.

A squeak coming from a few feet in front of us caused us to halt our little dispute. Pascal was sitting atop Rapunzel's head, glaring at the two of us in a most disapproving manner. He pointed his tiny, green finger at us in warning.

Both Maximus and I released each other, though very reluctantly. I must say, it's really _not _fun taking orders from a frog.

As soon as Pascal turned his head, I elbowed Maximus in the chin. He responded by shoving his shoulder into my chest.

We didn't really have time to continue our argument, because Rapunzel, who was completely oblivious to what was going on behind her, had already moved forward into the entrance of the kingdom. I was quite far behind her, but I could tell that her eyes were wide with fascination as she spun around to take in all the sights.

I was really glad that she was enjoying it so far. Part of me had been worrying that her expectations of this place would be so high that the reality would disappoint her. However, the wonder soon melted from her face as she ran into a stranger walking across the street. Her hair also posed an issue in this busy area, and it was getting stepped on and tugged. I ran over to helper her gather up the lengthy locks. We met up, each carrying a bundle of hair. I glanced down at the pile in my hand and looked around for some way to make this whole thing easier for her.

My gaze fell upon four red-headed girls sitting in a row, braiding each other's hair. They looked like they could use a challenge.

I whistled to get their attention and then gestured to the plentiful hair in my arms. Their little faces lit up with excitement. They led us to a deserted side street that had been cut off from the main road by a low wall. The girls sat Rapunzel down in the middle of the street and began skipping along as they braided her hair.

I was leaning against the wall with Pascal to my right and Maximus to my left when my eye caught the familiar glimmering of a palace guard's uniform. Sure enough, two of the goons were walking past our secret street. I ducked behind the wall, too afraid to look at Maximus. If he was going to turn me in, now was his chance. Thankfully, the guards passed without a sound uttered from the horse.

When I looked up again, I saw that Rapunzel's braid had been finished. The young girls hadn't just braided her hair, they had embellished it with several of the pretty little flowers that were growing in the area. The new style really suited Rapunzel, and I found myself thinking how well she looked with her hair like that.

She twirled around, pleased by the job the young girls had done, and thanked the four children for all their help.

I smiled as I watched her enjoying her new look. Maximus stuck his face closer to mine. He snickered and waggled his eyebrows at my little grin. I playfully pushed his face away, but couldn't really wipe the smile from my face. This brought a couple of giggles from Pascal's direction.

Rapunzel glanced over and caught me staring at her. I looked away, but she rushed over and grabbed my hand, leading me out onto the main road. Little shops and markets had been set up along the sides of the road, and Rapunzel was eager to visit each one. She dragged me along, suggesting that I buy an assortment of different foods and trinkets. Fortunately, she was already too distracted by the next neat looking shop to notice that I wasn't actually making any purchases.

After awhile, I decided that we should probably get something to eat. I discovered a little pastry shop to my left, and while Rapunzel was off looking at some fruits for sale, I snuck over and bought a cupcake for each of us.

I snuck up behind her, holding the delicious treats in my hand. I stuck out the one in my right hand (it was pink) and wagged it around in front of her face. She grabbed the cupcake and turned to beam at me. She seemed genuinely pleased by the fact that I had bought it for her. I was happy that I could make her smile with such a small gesture.

"Thank you, Eugene," she said.

"No pro—" I was cut off midsentence as I noticed two guards approaching from down the street. "Follow me," I told Rapunzel in a whisper.

I really didn't need to tell her that, because I grabbed her hand and pulled her along behind me. I stepped off to the side of the road and found a little niche where the two of us would be invisible to the passing guards.

I swung Rapunzel into the alcove and she giggled at the excitement of running from the authorities. I peeked out and the guards passed by without so much as looking up.

I smiled down at Rapunzel when they were finally out of sight. "Cheers," I said, holding up my yellow cupcake.

"Cheers," she repeated, gently tapping my pastry with her own.

I took a bite out of the side of my dessert and glanced down at her. We were a lot closer together than I'd originally thought. There was only room for a few inches of space between us, but I didn't really feel inclined to move out into the open space again.

Rapunzel laughed at me.

"What?" I asked, confused.

She giggled again and said, "You've got frosting on your cheek."

I lifted my hand to check. I had indeed managed to get quite a bit of frosting all along the side of my face. I scooped a bit of the frosting off of my cheek, reached over, and smeared some of the topping on Rapunzel's face.

"So do you," I responded.

We both laughed, and every once in awhile, one of us would reach up to add another dot of frosting to the other's face.

You want to know something really sad? That little moment in the alcove was probably some of the most genuine fun I'd had in a long, long time.

As we finished our cupcakes, Rapunzel noticed a library nearby. She insisted on going in, only to look at the maps.

"Please, Eugene," she whined when I expressed the desire to stay outside. "I want to see what the rest of the world looks like."

"But it's just a map, Blondie." I really had not better argument than this, and I knew it was weak, but I was _really_ hoping that she would want to stay outside. I didn't really like libraries. They creeped me out with all the old books and the "no talking."

"Please, Eugene," she pleaded again. "This would really mean a lot to me."

The look on her face, with her big, innocent eyes, was impossible to resist. Don't think I'm weak or anything, because trust me, you would've caved, too.

I sighed. "Fine, we can go look at the maps."

She squealed with excitement and happily trotted inside. By the time I got inside, she'd already asked the librarian where the maps were kept. We were directed to a small room upstairs where we spread out the intricate charts on the floor.

Rapunzel soon discovered a large book that contained several world and country maps. She brought it over to where I was kneeling down and opened it in front of me. She sat down beside me and leaned over to get a better view of the charts. As we flipped the pages, she became more and more fascinated with the rest of the globe. She would point to a country and ask me what it was called and what the people were like there. Her childish wonder and awe at such simple things made me feel so…_good_ for just being part of it.

After we'd flipped through the book of maps at least three times, Rapunzel agreed to come back outside. As we exited the building, I noticed a little boy selling miniature Corona national flags. The square of fabric was bright purple with a golden sun emblazoned in the center. I grabbed Rapunzel's hand and led her over to the toddler. I purchased one flag and handed it to the girl beside me. Her eyes lit up when she saw the gift and she held it up to compare it with the number of Corona flags that had been hung along the buildings.

She was so pleased by the flag that she pulled me over to a station where kids could borrow sticks of chalk to draw on the stone floor. She grabbed a few different shades of purple and some yellow and kneeled down right there. I watched from behind her as a brilliant, golden sun appeared on the ground. Surrounding this, she drew an intricate, violet pattern that looked more floral than anything else. On top of that, she took some lighter pinks and purples and drew people standing on the rays of the sun. But these weren't just people…they were family, something I'd never really known, something I secretly longed for, and from the way Rapunzel drew these characters, I could tell that this was something we had in common.

I felt as though I had seen too much in this very simple picture. Maybe I was overanalyzing it. Wow…overanalyzing, that's new. Never used to do that before.

A small crowd gathered around to admire Rapunzel's work. I can't blame them, it was a pretty fantastic piece of art.

Rapunzel walked back over to me. I really wanted to tell her how talented she was and how beautiful that chalk-artwork was, but I couldn't find the right words.

Instead, I asked, "Are you still hungry?" My stomach growled and Rapunzel giggled. "Because I sure am. I think I saw a guy selling bread and cheese around the corner. Do you want some?"

"Bread and cheese sounds good," she responded.

I led her over to where the food was being sold. There was a bit of a line before the counter, so we waited for awhile. We were almost to the front of the line, when she became distracted by something about the large mosaic behind us. It was a depiction of the King, the Queen, and the lost Princess. Here, people would make small offerings to the Princess as a sign of respect and hope that she would return.

I didn't understand what was so interesting about the picture, but I didn't have time to ask. It was my turn to purchase the goods, so I just let Rapunzel have her moment while I bought the food.

As I was handed the bread and cheese, about four guys walked by playing their instruments. I didn't think much of it at first, but I turned around to see the band standing close by as Rapunzel danced merrily to the music. She was as graceful as one would expect from someone like her and she didn't seem to care if others deemed this behavior appropriate or not.

People gathered around, smiling at the carefree, elegant dancer. Eventually, she went around and began recruiting the observers to come join in. I was surprised by the number of people that agreed to participate in the festivities, but, then again, it's very hard to refuse Rapunzel. Men, women, and children of all ages were soon prancing around in a circle, clapping and laughing and skipping and dancing.

I smiled as I watched from the outskirts. Rapunzel was just so…_awesome_. She could literally bring out the best in _anybody_, including a no-good thief such as myself.

She looked over and saw me grinning at her. She gestured eagerly for me to come join in, but I waved my hand dismissively. I wasn't much of a dancer. I, however, didn't really get much choice in the matter, because Maximus, who had come up behind me, pushed me directly into the heart of the merriment. I dropped my bread and cheese, which _really _disappointed me (I'd actually _bought_ them…like, with _actual _money).

I glared back at the horse as some random woman snatched my hand and claimed me as her partner. I danced with her for a bit before it came time to switch partners. I noticed Rapunzel nearby. She was reaching out for my hand, smiling eagerly. I extended my arm, ready to dance with her, but I was pulled away as another stranger took hold of me.

The dancing became more coordinated as time went on. People were much more organized in their moves and the switching of partners happened far less often. I was a bit disappointed, because it was already getting dark and I hadn't had the chance to dance with Rapunzel yet. I don't know why, but I was _really_ hoping to dance with her. It might have been because I was jealous that I wasn't the only person from the outside world she knew anymore. I liked it better when it was just the two of us. Now, I was also a bit worried that someone would find her and just take her away. I was responsible for her, after all, and if anything happened to her on my watch, I'd never forgive myself…or worse, she'd never forgive me.

But this was a dance, a merry festivity, and there was no need to get so worked up over some paranoia. I decided to just let myself relax and let the music control my thoughts. The dance continued, but the tone of the music was changing. I could tell that it would soon be drawing to a close. I looked up and found Rapunzel, following her with my eyes. Her eyes were shut and she was twirling around. But then I lost sight of her as the dance called for me to spin. When I turned back around, the two of us collided. My left hand landed on her waist and my right hand caught her left. She draped her other arm around my shoulder.

The music ended.

We were both panting from the exercise of the dance, but neither of us bothered to move out of that position. We just sort of stared at each other, and the moment was…well, it was perfect.

Now, I know what you're thinking. "Eugene, that's so cheesy." Well, yes, in my mind, there was a little bit of cheese during that instant, but it was nice, and I really liked it.

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><p><strong>Remember to review!<strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey, everyone! I know most of you are probably really angry with me because I haven't updated this in _so _long. I'm really sorry to make you guys wait, but school's been a bit hectic recently (I just started), and to be honest I've been a bit scared to write this scene and the next one. I'm scared that I won't be able to write this bit for it's potential, but I've given it my best shot! I'm really not sure if any of that made sense, but I'm tired and sleep deprived so cut me some slack. Alright, enough of this...Reviews are much appreciated :) On with the story.**

"To the boats!"

That stupid shout ruined my little moment with Rapunzel. I knew that going to the boats meant the lanterns would soon be released, and this was what Rapunzel had been looking forward to for the past two days. But to be honest, I wouldn't have minded if the lanterns were an hour late, if we just stood there a bit longer.

Unfortunately, the world does not operate on what _I _want to do, so Rapunzel and I started at the voice, releasing our grip on each other. I led her, Maximus and the chameleon out to a nearby dock, picking up some apples on the way. We found an empty little vessel and I helped Rapunzel in without a word. A strange sort of silence had fallen over us, but it was comfortable, calming.

I stepped into the boat after her, feeling the thing rock uncertainly under my weight. As I sat down, I grabbed hold of a nearby paddle, pushing off from the dock. Rapunzel's chameleon hopped on as we started to drift away. He scurried up my back and perched himself on my shoulder. Now that I thought about it, the little guy was actually kind of cute.

I glanced backwards and saw Maximus eyeing us with a bit of sadness on his face. Of course it was completely ridiculous to even _think _about letting the horse join us in our tiny canoe, but I felt almost guilty leaving him there, completely alone.

I allowed myself a small grin. Two days ago, if I had looked back to see him looking lonely, I would have continued on without a second thought. My how things had changed…

"Hey, Max!" I called to him, tossing the bag of apples onto the dock. The red fruits spilled out by his hooves.

He snorted and shot me a distrustful look.

"What? I _bought_ them," I said, laughing a bit.

He smiled—or whatever the horse-equivalent of smiling is—before bending down to usher some of the apples on the floor into his mouth.

"Most of them," I added without looking back. I'm pretty sure that Max knew I was just messing with him, but he made a surprised, squeaky noise regardless. In all honesty, I had actually _legally _purchased all of the apples, but lying to mess with the horse was not above me.

I smirked, continuing to paddle on. Rapunzel, who had been looking ahead at the water with awe, now turned to me.

"Where are we going?" she asked. Her tone made it sound almost as if she didn't really care where the destination would be. She sounded like she would be okay with wherever I decided to take us. Or perhaps I was hearing things because of my wishful thinking.

"Well," I told her, "best day of your life: I figure you should have a decent seat." I lifted the chameleon off my shoulder and placed him on a knob in the back of the boat. I was getting a bit worried that he'd fall off as I kept paddling.

I allowed the boat to drift further out into the middle of the vast, still lake. It was getting much darker now, and I couldn't see anyone else around. After a few more minutes, when I was quite certain that we had the best seat on the water, I stopped rowing and we came to a halt.

Now, I know you're probably thinking that this was all very romantic with us being out alone, at night, on a lake, with a frog. That all seems perfectly lovely, now doesn't it? But it was actually quite eerie. There was no one else in sight, and the cold water was black. I was looking out into the invisible horizon, thinking about all the terrible things that could happen to us out there, and no one would ever know.

But then I looked back up at Rapunzel, and things started to feel _much_ more romantic. She was there, and I was there, and that was all that really mattered.

She leaned toward the edge of the boat so she could face the darkened castle, perched on its little hill. There wasn't a single light shining from the whole kingdom. I imitated her pose, gazing out at the tranquil scene of the city I'd come to know so well. Now that I thought about it, the whole place seemed _serene _rather than creepy.

I heard a small, sad sigh come from my right, and I turned. "You okay?" I asked, not bothering to hide the concern from my face.

She shut her eyes for a moment before softly responding, "I'm terrified."

"Why?" _Poor thing_ was my only thought.

"I've been…looking out a window for eighteen years…dreaming about what it might feel like when those lights rise in the sky," she said, still quiet. She kept her eyes upward, looking into the heavens. I watched her, feeling the need to comfort. "What if it's not everything I dreamed it would be?"

I understood the gravity of this confession. She was legitimately worried, and I felt almost _honored _that she chose to confide in me.

A small smile played at the corners of my lips. "It will be," I promised, because it had to be. If not, then this whole adventure was for nothing, and I wanted this for Rapunzel. I wanted her to see the lights and to fulfill that desire that she'd been carrying for so long.

"And what if it is?" she asked me, looking directly at me. "What do I do then?"

I stared into those beautiful green eyes for a moment before glancing back out over the water. "Well, that's the good part, I guess. You get to go find a new dream." I smiled at her. My dream of owning my own island and being disgustingly rich was quickly losing its appeal. I had been alone all my life, and I started to realize that maybe I didn't want to be alone after all. It was then that I recognized that my dream had changed without my knowledge or permission. Now, I wanted to retire, to have someone there (and I already had a pretty good idea of who I wanted), to love and be loved by another person, to feel that human connection that I'd gone so long without.

Rapunzel grinned back at me and murmured, "Hm." She was looking at me in the way that always made me feel uncertain. She looked so genuine and so innately good. Why was she here with a wanted crook like me? But I decided not to dwell on these thoughts for too long. As I said before, all that mattered was that she was there…with me.

We turned back out to look at the peaceful lake. Another one of those relaxing silences fell over us, and we just waited for a bit. She started to pick a few of the flowers out of her hair. I held out my hand and she dumped them onto my palm. She delicately lifted one of them and placed it gently in the water, watching as it smoothly drifted away from the boat. She repeated this over and over, taking each flower individually and sending it off. Every so often, her fingers would brush against my palm. There wasn't electricity that ran through my hand at the touch or anything like that, but I could certainly feel the warm trail her fingers left long after they'd moved away.

I smiled, a happy, serene, authentic smile, as I watched her pleasant concentration. Suddenly, her expression changed and her eyes widened. She looked up at the sky, and I did the same.

The first lantern had been released.


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay, so I was really unsure about how to write this chapter, because this is the part of the movie where Eugene and Rapunzel share that really awesome song. But I tried my best, and please be sure to review to let me know what you think!**

_All those days, watching from the windows,_

_All those years, outside looking in._

Rapunzel jumped back from the side of the boat and looked eagerly up at the sky. In her excitement, she rocked the small vessel violently, causing me to fall backwards, though she didn't seem to notice. She was standing at the front of the boat now, her eyes alight with wonder and utter joy. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

_All that time, never even knowing_

_Just how blind I've been._

With that first, single lantern leading the way, several hundred more were released. A sea of light was flooding the sky, and I was content because as I watched the emotions dance across her face, I could tell that this was even better than what she'd dreamed it would be.

_Now I'm here, blinking in the starlight._

_Now I'm here, suddenly I see,_

_Standing here, it's oh-so clear,_

_I'm where I'm meant to be._

The lanterns slowly began to fan out across the inky black night. Though I'd seen the spectacle many times before, I'd never really stopped to appreciate the utter _magnificence _of it all until now. And as I sat up in the boat, alternating my gaze between Rapunzel and the beacons of light above, I felt _right _for the first time in a very long time…I felt really good.

_And at last I see the light,_

_And it's like the fog has lifted._

_And at last I see the light,_

_And it's like the sky is new._

Two lanterns drifted down into the water beside the boat. I leaned over the edge and scooped them up into my hands. I meant them to be an offering to Rapunzel, but she was still so engrossed by the sky that I didn't want to bother her with it just yet. I decided to just wait a bit, still clutching the cloth-covered lights.

_And it's warm and real and bright,_

_And the world has somehow shifted._

_All at once, everything looks different_

_Now that I see you._

Rapunzel shifted her position a little. She seemed to suddenly become aware that I was still in the boat. When she turned around to face me, I showed her the two lanterns I was holding, feeling unnecessarily nervous. What if she thought the lantern was a stupid gesture?

_Self-doubt,_ I thought. _This is new_.

But a lovely smile lit Rapunzel's face as she came toward my end of the boat. She sat down so that she was facing me and our knees knocked together.

"Hm," she mumbled, not taking the lantern yet. "I have something for you, too." She reached under her seat and pulled out a strikingly familiar object—my satchel. "I should have given it to you before, but I was just _scared_, and the thing is, I'm not scared anymore. You know what I mean?" She looked up at me, smiling expectantly.

There wasn't even a trace of uncertainty in my mind as I reached over and lightly pushed to bag into her lap, indicating that she was to keep it. "I'm starting to," I told her.

She shoved the satchel aside and looked at me with an expression of approval and surprise and…something else. It was that something else that gave me hope. Maybe it was possible for a guy like me to end up with a fantastic, beautiful, _genuine_ girl like her.

_All those days, chasing down a daydream,_

_All those years, living in a blur,_

_All that time, never truly seeing_

_Things the way they were._

She took a lantern from me, and we each released one. The two glowing lights rose above us and twirled around each other in the air.

_Now she's here, shining in the starlight,_

_Now she's here, suddenly I know._

I watched Rapunzel as she leaned over the side of the boat, marveling at the lanterns that were sinking down lower, descending blissfully upon the lake. She pointed to one coming our way and smiled eagerly in my direction. I loved to see her that happy, and I wished that I could make sure she was always as joyously content as she was in that moment.

She reached out and caught the lantern just as it skimmed the water's surface, pushing it back up into the sky to join the others.

_If she's here, it's crystal clear,_

_I'm where I'm meant to go._

I realized then that my time with her was slowly drawing to a close. I would have to take her back home the next day, and maybe she would want to see me again, but maybe she wouldn't. I decided that I _had _to make the best of this moment.

As I made up my mind, a new thought struck me. It seemed that—almost without my knowledge—I had gone and fallen in love with Blondie. It was tough to admit, even to myself, and the thought _I love Rapunzel_ was real and honest and terrifying all at the same time.

I reached for her hands, scooping them both up in my own. A fluttery feeling emerged from the pit of my stomach, but it was nice and exciting.

_Oh, and at last I see the light,_

_And it's like the fog has lifted._

_And at last I see the light,_

_And it's like the sky is new._

I rubbed my thumb across the back of her hand, feeling her smooth skin under my rough fingertips. The smile she gave me and the expression in her eyes made my heart stutter—literally. Medically, I'm sure that's worrying, but I honestly didn't mind in the slightest.

_And it's warm and real and bright,_

_And the world has somehow shifted._

_All at once, everything is different,_

_Now that I see you._

The moment suddenly felt right. I pulled her hands closer to my chest and leaned forward. I wanted to show her how much I cared, to show her that while I may have been a complete jerk, I was also completely capable of love.

_Now that I see you._

I reached a hand up to brush back a strand of her hair, allowing my palm to ghost across her skin. Having finished with the hair, I cupped the side of her face, hoping that she wouldn't notice how sweaty my palms had become.

I continued to lean forward, and I noticed that she didn't flinch, she didn't attempt to back away, she didn't look disgusted. In fact, there was a small smile playing at the corner of her lips. Was it possible for her to feel the same way about me? No, I highly doubted that anyone could be as completely, hopelessly in love as I was. But it certainly seemed like she cared.

My right hand was still pressed against her cheek while my left hand held gently to one of her own. I gave her plenty of time to move away or reprimand me for my lack of personal space. But she stayed where she was (and did I imagine it or did she lean toward me as well?).

Her eyes drifted shut as she lifted her face to mine, and my eyelids were just about to close, and my stomach was twisting itself into the most interesting knots, and the moment was just so completely perfect.

But then something on the nearby shore caught my attention, and my eyes snapped open.

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><p><strong>Please remember to review! Tell me if there's anything I need to fix in this chapter or if there's anything in particular you want to see in the upcoming ones.<strong>


	15. Chapter 15

**I know everyone's probably really surprised that I got out _two _whole chapters in one week (in one day actually). I felt guilty for leaving you guys hanging for so long so I wrote two.**

It was the Stabbington Brothers. The two goons were lurking by the water's edge, holding a greenish lantern. I squinted in their direction, trying to make sure that I wasn't hallucinating. They were real, alright. Sideburns and Eye-patch looked pointedly at me before walking behind a very large boulder.

Unfortunately, the moment was gone. Rapunzel had noticed that the impending kiss had not come.

"Is…everything okay?" she asked uncertainly. She glanced back to the shore behind her, obviously wondering what I was staring at.

"Huh?" I mumbled absently. "Oh, yes," I said, grabbing her hand briefly before letting it go. I felt too awkward now, and all that confidence I'd managed earlier was completely gone. "Yes, of course, I just…" I looked down at the satchel that was seated beside Rapunzel.

If I gave the princess's tiara to the Stabbington Brothers, they would most definitely leave me alone. I could start over, rid myself of any and all ties to my criminal past. Maybe, if Rapunzel was up for it…

I quickly dismissed these thoughts. While she had apparently been ready to kiss me, there was no reason she'd ever be willing to _start over _with me. I couldn't blame her. I mean, we'd only known each other for two days, and here I was thinking about settling down with her.

But still, if I could just get rid of those two thugs, I could figure out where I stood with Rapunzel in peace. If I didn't hand over the satchel right away, who knows what they would do to me…or to anyone near me.

That settled it. I had to get them that stupid crown as soon as possible. There was no way I was going to risk them coming after me while Rapunzel was around. I just needed to get this over with.

"There's just something I have to do really quick," I told Rapunzel, grabbing the oar. The boat gently drifted to shore and I hopped out. "I'm sorry," I said, walking so I was facing her. "Everything is fine." I grabbed the satchel. "There's just something I have to take care of."

I wanted to tell her that I loved her and that I'd be back for her soon enough, but I simply couldn't find the words. I stared at her, silently pleading for her to understand. A quick expression of doubt and hurt flashed in her eyes, though it vanished almost as soon as it came.

"Okay," she said, trusting.

I was a bit relieved, but also a bit disappointed. I would have stayed if she'd asked me to. I would have forgotten the Stabbingtons and forgotten the crown and forgotten everything if she'd asked me to. But she said, "Okay," and she gave me permission to go.

"I'll be right back," I assured her, hoping that my voice conveyed that this promise would be kept, that she could trust me not to run off.

As I slowly began to walk toward the Stabbingtons' camp, I heard her whisper, "It's alright, Pascal," to the chameleon. My heart leapt again in that not-medically-safe way. She trusted me to come back, and having earned her trust made me feel good, genuinely good.

I pushed through some bushes and saw Sideburns sharpening some sort of weapon.

I immediately put on the Flynn-Rider-persona and said, "Ah, there you are. I've been searching everywhere for you guys since we got separated. The sideburns are coming in nice, huh? Got to be excited about that."

He stopped carving his spear and turned to glare at me. My smile faltered and I cleared my throat.

"Anyhow, just wanted to say I shouldn't have split, the crown is all yours"—I tossed the satchel toward him and it landed on the dirt by his feet—"I'll miss you, but I think it's for the—"

I had started to walk away, and gracelessly bumped into Eye-patch. "Best," I muttered, finishing my sentence. The ferocity in his glare caused me to worry that things wouldn't go as smoothly as I'd planned.

"Holding out on us again, ay, Rider?" Sideburns asked as he resumed the sharpening of his spear.

"What?" I said. I was honestly confused.

"We heard you found something," he replied, tossing his knife in his hand and holding the spear by his side. He stood up and started to walk toward me. "Something much more valuable than a crown. We want her instead."

I could literally _feel _the color draining from my face. I was scared, really, legitimately scared. I remembered when I used to be so cool, so incredibly detached, ready to cut ties with anyone at any given time. But now that I cared for someone, I couldn't do that. I suddenly realized _why _thieves don't maintain personal relationships: it makes it so much harder to be cold-hearted and careless when you love someone.

"You can't have her," I told them, caught halfway between the fierce urge to protect Rapunzel and the utter horror at what they'd do to her. "I'll literally give you _anything _else, but she's off limits."

"What's the matter, Rider, got a crush?" Eye-patch asked, standing up to his full height so he completely loomed over me.

"I'll steal the freaking _castle_ if you want me to," I insisted. "But if you so much as lay one finger on her—"

I never did get to finish that thought. I felt a sharp pain on the back of my head as the butt of Sideburns' spear collided with my skull.

_Don't let them hurt Rapunzel_, was my last conscious thought.

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><p><strong>Please review! I need feedback!<strong>


	16. Chapter 16

**Three chapters in one night! Wow, I'm on a roll! Well, please, dear readers, give me feedback on this chapter when you're done reading it!**

"The crown!" I heard someone shout.

I started slowly clawing my way back to consciousness, though the pounding in my head was making that a bit difficult. The first thing I noticed was the ropes. There were so many of them, some tying me against a pole to keep me in a standing position while others were looped around my hands.

My hands. I looked down and noticed that they were firmly attached to the wheel of a ship, and there was something metallic gleaming by my wrist. It was the crown. My mind quickly snapped back to reality as I hurriedly deduced what was going on.

Memories flooded back: Rapunzel and I with our almost kiss, the Stabbington Brothers waiting on the shore, Sideburns hitting me over the head because I wouldn't give up…

Oh no. Rapunzel…she was in danger. The Stabbingtons were after her. I had to go help her. "Rapunzel," I said weakly. Then my adrenaline finally kicked in. "Rapunzel!" This time it was a shout.

I heard the clink of armor as about five guards ran over to where I was. The Stabbington Brothers had tied me to a boat with the crown in my hand, and these _idiots _we allowed to protect the kingdom thought I was to blame. Honestly, I was _tied up_. Didn't they find that the least bit odd? It was no wonder I'd managed to steal things from under their noses so many times. The royal guard was made up of complete and utter morons!

"No, no, no, no," I yelled as they practically pounced on me, undoing the ropes so they could take me into custody. "Wait, guys, _guys_!" They ushered me off the ship, practically dragging me toward the jail. "_Rapunzel_!" I shouted, hoping against hope that she would hear me and understand my warning. She was in danger, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

I protested—kicking, screaming, and on one occasion, biting my captors—all the way to the castle. I was unceremoniously tossed into a cell. I didn't even care that I'd been caught. I just wanted someone to go out there and save Rapunzel.

The guards left me alone for several hours. I clawed at the solid brick walls, searching for a weak spot. I shook the metal bars that held me in, praying that they would bend. I shouted through the tiny window.

"Rapunzel! Rapunzel!"

After about two hours, my voice went hoarse and I found it hard to speak. When I finally stopped yelling, I heard a few grumbles of appreciation from the cells around me. They didn't understand. No one understood the danger that she was in. She didn't deserve any of this, but it was happening anyway, and these _buffoons _wouldn't listen to me when I tried to tell them.

I started pacing frantically. I was so worried, more than I had ever been in the entirety of my life. I just kept thinking about Rapunzel, waiting for me to come back like I'd promised, only to be met with the Stabbington Brothers.

There was a jingling of keys and the creak of metal as my cell door was opened. The Captain of the Idiots walked toward me. I'd seen him chasing me before, and though he probably knew every detail of my existence, I didn't even know his name.

"Let's get this over with, Rider," he said, his voice soft and gruff simultaneously.

"Where are we going?" I asked. The man stood a bit taller but remained silent. I suddenly understood. I brought a hand absently up to my neck. "Oh." I was going to be hanged.

He looked a bit uncomfortable. It wasn't as if he was particularly _sorry _to see me off to my death, but the man seemed uncertain, like he didn't think I should be punished quite this harshly. He walked several paces ahead of me as we made our way out of my cell and down the hallway. I had a guard on either side of me, holding my arms in place. I briefly thought that this was overkill. I mean, honestly, I'd never been known to use violence, so why were they treating me like a particularly violent criminal?

I was scared. I'd never faced death like this before. There didn't seem to be any way I could talk myself out of this one. I only hoped that Rapunzel would be okay. Would she care? Or would she just brush it off? The latter seemed unlikely. She was always so kind, so gentle with everyone and everything. She'd probably care, but would she know how much I cared?

My eye caught two familiar figures in the cell to my right. Now I understood why I needed this much protection. I threw all of my weight at the guard to my left, allowing him to fall clumsily to the floor. I rammed my head into the other guy and he soon joined his comrade on the ground. I jumped up and slid my handcuffed hands under my legs so that they were now in front of me.

I ran over to the cell on my right and grabbed a fistful of Sideburns' shirt. He had his brother had apparently been caught as well.

"How did you know about her?" I demanded, absolutely livid. Too many emotions…I wasn't used to feeling this much all at once. "Tell me, _now_."

Even though this guy was twice my size, even though he could eat me for breakfast, even though he was the most heartless, brutal man I'd ever known, something about my tone and my expression scared him. Love can make you fierce.

"I-it wasn't us," Sideburns stammered. "It was the old lady."

"Old lady?" I said quietly. Everything clicked. It was Rapunzel's mother. Somehow she was involved in this, and Rapunzel was still in danger.

The guards I'd knocked down came to their senses. They grabbed me (incredibly roughly) and continued dragging me down the hallway.

"Wait, no, wait!" I pleaded as I felt a third guy grab onto my shoulders. This subdued my struggling somewhat, but I continued to shout at them. "You don't understand," I said desperately. "You don't understand! She's in trouble! Wait!"

But they didn't wait. They just kept dragging me down that hallway.

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><p><strong>As always, this is the end-of-chapter reminder to be a dear and review! Much appreciated :)<strong>


	17. Chapter 17

**To be completely honest, I'm not that confident about this chapter. There's just so much that goes on in these scenes that it was difficult to describe exactly _what _was happening. Anyway, leave reviews and suggestions for things to change.**

As we neared the exit of the building I began to get more anxious. I was throwing myself in all directions, trying to get those infernal guards to let go of me. Rapunzel was in trouble and no one knew. If I could have just _gotten away_ for a bit, I knew I would be able to save her. They could throw me back in prison after that if they wanted to; it's not like it would matter.

The three moronic men in armor kept tightening their grips on me. They were pushing me more violently as my resistance increased. Honestly, that level of man-handling was completely unnecessary. If I made it out alive, I would have to write a complaint or something. Sure I was a criminal trying to escape, but they really didn't have to be so _rough_.

Dread, hopelessness and overwhelming fear hit me all at once as I got a glimpse outside a nearby window. Apparently, this building led out into a courtyard, and it was honestly the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen. A wooden platform stood in the center with a single, hungry noose hanging above it.

"No, no, no, no, no," I stammered out. I was _scared_. "What the heck is that?" I asked no one in particular, though I knew exactly what it was. The hangman's rope, eagerly awaiting its next victim.

It was a prisoner who answered me rather than one of the guards. He spoke in a weary voice, making it clear that he'd been in that cell for a long time. I didn't get a chance to look at him as I was already being dragged and pushed and shoved along by the guards, but I heard him speak in that frail, tired voice.

"That's where men meet silence…silence and the end of all things…that's where you'll find Death's embrace."

I was pulled away and could feel the guards' fingers digging deeper into my arms. They were really _trying _to make this as painful as possible for me. We finally reached an area that was vacant of cells. The halls were empty and solid, and I knew that things would be drawing to a close very soon.

Before that, I had been mostly concentrated on being scared for Rapunzel's life, but hearing those words—"Death's embrace"—they sparked a new sort of terror within me. I was just afraid. Fear was literally the _only_ thing I could grasp. I was afraid for myself, for Rapunzel, for her frog, for the kingdom, for everyone and everything. There were no calming thoughts or sudden occurrences of peace—there was simply unadulterated panic.

The whole situation was so completely hopeless that I almost didn't think much of the tiny object that caught my eye. There was a small alcove dug into the side of the wall, and resting inside that little shelf, was a small figurine—a unicorn. I struggled to remember where I had seen that thing before, and it only took a moment for the memory to come flooding back.

Vladimir, perhaps the scariest man I'd ever come across, had made his affinity for collecting ceramic unicorns very clear back at the Snuggly Duckling. Jeez, that seemed like _ages _ago, but with each passing second the image if Vlad holding that tiny creature became more vivid.

Then the door directly in front of us slammed shut. We were allowed a moment of confusion before the rest of the doors in the area sealed themselves off, successfully trapping us inside that little patch of hallway. We all looked around, a bit dazed, though I thought I had a pretty good idea of what was going on. This was a rescue mission. For some bizarre reason, the guys from the Snuggly Duckling were here to break me out, and that unicorn was meant as a "heads-up."

"What's this?" the captain said angrily. He took a few steps forward and pounded on the door in front of us. "Open up."

A panel on the door slid open, revealing a familiar face. It was the small, drunk, bearded man from the Snuggly Duckling. He apparently had helped lock us in. "What's the password?" he slurred.

"What?" the captain asked incredulously.

"_No_."

"Open this door!" he shouted.

"Not even close," the man told him with a disgusted look. He clearly was _not _impressed by the captain's password-guessing skills.

"You have three seconds!" He was really fuming by this point. "One!"

I became aware of a hook dropping seemingly out of the sky and plucking up one of the guards beside me. The other guard gasped, shocked at the disappearance of his colleague.

"Two!"

The man standing to my right was about to call attention to the fact that his friend had just been abducted, but a door directly behind him opened up, and he was dragged inside by a very beefy hand. As the guard was being pulled away, his helmet dislodged from his head and landed on the floor with a deafening _clank_ just after the door shut behind him.

"Three!" the captain shouted, turning around to find the cause for the sudden noise.

He saw me standing there, alone in an empty hallway. I waved sheepishly at him as his mouth dropped down. He let out a startled gasp just as the door behind him opened. A very, very large man with a frying pan stepped into our little stretch of hallway and smacked the captain over the head, successfully knocking him unconscious.

I was giddy with relief, almost able to taste the freedom. You might be thinking that _freedom _doesn't have a taste. Well, then you're a complete idiot because, trust me, it _does_. "Frying pans: who knew, right?" I said with a grin to the hulk standing in front of me. I felt positively invincible as I gingerly stepped over the captain's body.

Well, that is until about four guards managed to smash their way through the door behind us. They ran after us, splitting up into two teams so they could capture all of the conspirators. I took off after the man with the frying pan. I usually enjoyed the chase, being on the run from the bumbling buffoons we call guards, but this time it felt different. There was more at stake now than there'd ever been before.

We ran passed Ulf, the mime. As soon as we threw ourselves around the corner, I heard the clanking of armor as the guards came to a halt. Apparently, Ulf was using his ability to make them think that there was some sort of transparent wall blocking off the hallway. These guys really _weren't _the sharpest swords in the batch, you know what I mean?

I sprinted out the first exit I found and noticed that I was followed by nearly every occupant of the Snuggly Duckling. They'd all come to help me escape, and that was oddly touching. But I didn't have time to dwell on the emotional effects of their little rescue mission, because the exit that I ran through was the one that led to the courtyard and the noose, and currently, there were about one hundred guards storming into that small area. Their swords were raised and they were charging at the bunch of us.

Hook-hand picked me up and set me down again beside him. "Head down," he commanded, lowering his own head in demonstration.

"Head down," I repeated back.

"Arms in." He tucked his elbows into his sides.

"Arms in."

"Knees apart."

"Knees apart." Something about this last instruction struck me as odd. Why was I even being told to take this position anyway? "Knees apart…?"

I heard a roar coming from overhead and getting steadily closer as someone jumped off the second story and was about to land dangerously close to where I was standing.

"Wh-why do I need to keep my knees apart?" I barely managed to ask before I was shot into the air. Remember that jumping man I mentioned earlier? Well, it turns out that he landed on the back end of some sort of seesaw, and I was standing on the front of it. When the wooden contraption took on his weight, I was catapulted into the air, flying up and over the walls of the prison and screaming all the way. While I may not have gotten points for style or class, at least I was able to make it out alive.

Luckily, waiting on a flat portion of the castle's roof, which turned out to be my precise landing point, was none other than Maximus. Had he been an inch to the left or to the right, I surely would have missed him. But, as it were, luck was on my side, and I landed (painfully) on the horse's saddle.

He grunted softly by way of greeting.

Suddenly, something clicked into place. When I spoke next, it was in a voice much softer than any man who had just been catapulted to an enormous height would be expected to take. "Max…You brought them here?"

He gave me a smug grin, very pleased with himself.

I would have found that annoying had I not been so incredibly grateful. "Thank you."

He neighed and flicked his head toward the forest, indicating that we should get moving.

I wasn't about to let him deter me from my confession of gratitude. "No, really, thank you, I-I feel maybe this whole time we've just been misunderstanding one another and we're really just…" I was distracted by the _you're-an-idiot-and-there're-more-important-things-to-do _look that Maximus was shooting at me. "Yeah, you're right," I agreed. "We should go."

As if to emphasize the need for us to get moving, a nearby door swung open and several guards came swarming out, charging toward the horse and I where we stood. As Max started to gallop away from them, even more of the armored men came running at us, though they approached from a different angle. Their tactic of boxing us in was clearly working. We were on the castle's roof with men coming at us from behind and men coming at us from the side. There was no way out.

But Max wasn't slowing down. If anything, he was picking up speed as we drew closer and closer to the rooftop's edge.

"Max," I said uncertainly as I noticed the guards gaining on us. There was no way he could get around them. "Max." This time it was more urgent as he not only showed no signs of slowing, but no signs of turning as well. "Max!" It came out as a shout, but in my defense, the horse had just launched us off the roof and into the air.

He landed with a _thud _on another rooftop and skidded down the side of it, leaping one final time. We plopped down gracelessly somewhere in the heart of the town. I recognized the location as the place where Rapunzel had stirred up that dance.

I shut my eyes and held tighter to Max's reigns. "Okay, Max, let's see how fast you can run." The horse took the challenge and sped off.

_Don't worry, Rapunzel_, I thought. _I'm coming for you._

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><p><strong>Review! Let me know what you thought. As I said, I'm not all that sure about this chapter, but I'd definitely love some constructive crticism.<strong>


	18. Chapter 18

**Okay, dear readers, brace yourselves for a very long chapter. Enjoy.**

Max had us out onto the bridge in no time. From there, we could see the forest, and I desperately hoped that Rapunzel's mother hadn't done anything awful to her yet. The wind was roaring in my ears, all but drowning out my thoughts. As we passed through the thicket of trees, I struggled to remember the way to Rapunzel's tower. I did my best and, thankfully, we managed to make it there in a time that probably defied all logic.

The sky was darkened by clouds, and I briefly acknowledged how eerie the tower looked in that lighting.

I hopped off Max and ran up to the decrepit building. "Rapunzel!" I shouted, my voice a bit hoarse. There was no response. "Rapunzel, let down your hair!" I had meant for it to come out as more of a command, but the words merely sounded like a plea.

When there was still no immediate answer, I ran toward the tower and began to climb up the brick wall on my own. But shortly, I heard a creak as the window above was opened. Then, the familiar locks of golden hair were tossed down, and I grabbed on. I was amazed at how quickly I managed to climb her tresses, but I couldn't be surprised. With all that adrenaline and relief running through my bloodstream, it wasn't that much of a fantastic feat.

"Rapunzel, I thought I'd never see you again," I told her as I climbed the last few inches, heaving myself through the window.

My relief was replaced by confusion and fear within a matter of seconds. Rapunzel wasn't waiting expectantly for me as I'd envisioned. Instead, she was tied to something on the other side of the room, her eyes wide with horror and a cloth tied across her mouth.

She tried to shout something that sounded strikingly similar to "Eugene!"

Who could have done this to her? Who could be so heartless as to tie up such a wonderful and innocent girl?

I was about to go toward her, to unbind her and comfort her. I wanted to get her out of that place as soon as possible. I wanted to take her away into the kingdom where we could live, and we'd be safe and we'd be happy and everything would be _good._

But things don't always work out the way you planned them. Some people are deterred from their dreams for whatever reason—whether it was because they ran out of money, or fell out of love, or made a costly mistake, or found something new to chase after.

The reason my dream was drawing to a close wasn't nearly as pleasant as any of those. My reason was a knife. Not just any knife. It was the knife that Rapunzel's mother had just plunged into my right side.

You heard me right. While I was staring sadly at the bound girl before me, that awful witch had snuck up behind me and stabbed me. Now, I'm no doctor, but I could tell that this thing would be fatal. If the sheer _pain _of it didn't kill me, the outrageous blood loss surely would.

I made some sort of unappealing grunt before gracelessly falling over, my hands pressing against the wound. It hurt so badly…I just wanted to stop hurting. I heard Rapunzel's strangled cries in the distance, but it was becoming hard to concentrate on what was going on when the pain was so excruciating. I escaped a noose only to be done in by a dagger.

"Now look what you've _done, _Rapunzel," her mother said, standing over me.

I grunted as the pain got worse and worse, coming in waves and nearly knocking me out. Come to think of it, being knocked out wouldn't be such a bad thing. Maybe then some of the hurting would be dulled. But no, I was doomed to lie there, curling up into a ball with not even the blessing of unconsciousness to help me cope.

"Our secret will die with him," she continued, stepping over me. I watched her boots land by my face. There was something like bits of a broken mirror scattered across the ground. I vaguely wondered what that was from, but I couldn't ponder it too long. Most of my mind was absorbed with the stab wound and the blood seeping through my clothing. "And as for us, huh, we are going where no one will ever find you again!"

There was the clinking of metal, and I assumed that Rapunzel was attached to a chain of some sort. It seemed like her mother had started tugging on this, dragging her along like a dog. It made me sick.

Another eruption of pain exploded in my abdomen. I heard the sounds of the tower growing more and more distant. There was apparently a bit of a struggle going on, but I couldn't lift my head enough to see it. I could only listen to the shouts coming from that direction, though it was getting more difficult to hear them as a buzzing started up. I was fairly certain that this buzz was only in my head as no one else seemed to acknowledge it.

"Rapunzel, really! Enough of already! _Stop fighting me_!"

And then it seemed that Rapunzel had somehow freed her mouth enough to speak, because the next words were in her soothingly familiar voice. "No! I won't stop. For every minute of the rest of my life, I will fight. I will never stop trying to get away from you!"

She paused, panting, and the buzzing had gotten louder so her next words became a bit fuzzy. "But, if you let me save him, I will go with you."

At first, I barely registered the meaning of these words, but soon it clicked. She would save me and sacrifice her freedom. If she did this, her life would be completely and utterly miserable, much worse than she'd ever known. She was essentially giving up her existence to heal me. But she didn't get it. I was so inconsequential compared to her. She _deserved _to live, to be free, and I was not willing to let her lose that.

"No…no, Rapunzel," I pleaded, but talking required much more effort than I remembered. I gathered my energy as she continued to speak to her mother. I'd need to tell her how important she was, how beautiful and sweet and good she was, and I'd need to let her know that I, well, that I loved her. Thinking about this made the buzzing grow louder, so I stopped thinking and just listened.

"I'll never run," Rapunzel was saying. "I'll never try to escape. Just let me heal him…and you and I will be together…forever, just like you want. Everything will be the way it was." They were just words up until that point, but then Rapunzel said something that seemed to solidify her offer. "I promise." And I knew very well that Rapunzel never broke a promise. "Just like you want…Just let me heal him," her voice was coated with urgency.

I had to stop her from doing this. Saving me was not something to die for.

That's when a small ray of sun broke through the window, dancing across the room. The light struck something on the floor that gleamed under the yellow glare. It was a piece of that broken mirror.

That terrible droning buzz was growing louder as it attempted to drown out every sound, every thought, every feeling that made up my existence. But one thing was clear, even in my bloodied, fuzzy haze: Rapunzel could not be allowed to sacrifice her freedom to save a no-good crook like me, and I knew exactly how to stop her.

Rapunzel's mother grabbed some chains—where they came from I have no idea—and shackled my wrists together. She shoved me against some hard surface and loosely wrapped the chains around me. She said it was in case I got any ideas about following them. She pushed away from me, causing a painful flash to shoot through my stomach. I reached down to grip the stab wound once more and winced.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel shouted as she ran over toward me.

I couldn't respond as I started to cough. Breathing was also becoming quite a bit of a challenge. Rapunzel ran her hands over my face lightly; her touch almost tickled as it trailed across my cheek and through my hair. If I hadn't been mortally wounded, I'm sure the moment would have been very romantic.

"Ah," I groaned again as the pain worsened once more. I shut my eyes tight, for some reason thinking that this would help the hurt become less blinding. I also tightened my grip around the bloodied area. There was no reason for Rapunzel to be subjected to that sight.

However, she gently moved my hand out of the way, and I was in no condition to fight back. She let out some sort of pitying declaration as she glimpsed the crimson.

"Everything is going to be okay, though," she was telling me. She lifted her hair, ready to drape it across my torso.

There was something important I had to say or do…remembering was another ability I was quickly losing. Oh, right, my master plan. "No, Rapunzel," I insisted, trying to push her hair away from me. I mainly just swatted at the air lazily, but she seemed undeterred.

"I promise, you have to trust me, come on," she was muttering, her face very close to mine.

"No," I said again weakly. I reached my hand up once more and finally made contact with her. I allowed my palm to rest on her arm, though I didn't have the strength to push her back. She was mumbling something else, but I cut her off. "I can't let you do this." I forced my eyes open, despite the fact that doing so seemed to double the pain.

"And I can't let you die," she whispered softly. I could see the concern on her face.

She was so beautiful. Had I ever told her that? It broke my heart to see such sadness in her eyes, but she was still so beautiful, and I hadn't ever gotten the chance to tell her.

What was I doing? Right, convincing her _not _to give up her freedom to keep me alive. "But if you do this," I managed to get out, "you…will die." I was panting by that point. Talking, breathing, remembering, _existing_—it all took too much effort. I was so tired, but I couldn't sleep, not until Rapunzel was free.

"Hey," she said quietly, putting her hand on the side of my face. "It's going to be alright." I couldn't really find the tenacity to argue, so she opened her mouth to sing.

"Rapunzel," I choked out. This was the right time. This was when I would have to execute my plan. If I didn't do it now, it would be too late. I lifted my right hand up to stroke her cheek. "Wait." I leaned up, as if to kiss her, and there was nothing I would rather be doing. But saving her was more important than indulging myself. The hand that had been caressing the side of her face moved to the back of her head, and I managed to scoop up her hair. With my left hand, I grabbed a piece of broken glass from the mirror, and when Rapunzel closed her eyes for the kiss that would never come, I took the shard and swiped it through the handful of hair.

Her long, golden locks fell limply to the floor and she was left with short, spiky hair. I watched, almost in a daze, as her hair turned brown and it lost its powers.

The simple haircut certainly required a great amount of effort. I flopped back, exhausted, and the shard of mirror fell from my limp hand. I really just needed to sleep. I was so tired, and everything hurt. I couldn't really remember _why _I was in so much pain, but I just wanted it to stop.

I allowed my eyes to drift closed. Everything would be fine once I rested up a bit. There was some sort of struggle going on, and I vaguely remember hearing screams. Then, there was Rapunzel's voice, sweet and soothing against the buzzing that had taken over.

I could tell that she had pulled my head onto her lap, but I couldn't open my eyes. I was just too tired.

"No, no, no, no," she said, pressing her hands to my face. "Eugene."

Her voice sounded so scared that I had to say something to make her feel better. I wanted her to know that it would be alright. I took a breath and coughed as this task became increasingly difficult. I tried to open my eyes, but they fluttered shut in an instant.

"No, look at me, look at me, I'm right here," she was saying, leaning closer to me. "Don't go. Stay with me Eugene."

I distantly registered the fact that she had picked up my hand and pressed it to her head, singing in that wonderful voice of hers. Had I ever told her that I loved her voice?

"Rapunzel," I said, so quietly that _I _could barely even hear it. "Hey." I tried for more strength in my tone that time. "Rapunzel."

"What?" she breathed. There were tears in her eyes, and it pained me to see her so sad.

I needed to tell her, to tell her everything I'd been keeping secret. I wanted her to know that I loved her beyond anything, that she was the most amazing person I'd ever met, and that she _changed _me, which was no easy feat. But I couldn't find the words. In the end, all I said was, "You were my new dream."

Her voice broke as she responded, giving a sad little laugh. "And you were mine." The tears in her eyes threatened to spill over.

And that was enough for me to know that she cared about me. I was content…maybe not happy, but pleased. I shut my eyes, ready to sleep. Things were good because I cared for Rapunzel and she cared for me. And everything was going to be alright.

There was a violet light and a hum. There isn't anybody else there. Not even Eugene Fitzherbert was there.

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><p><strong>Let me know what you guys think! Reviews are appreciated!<strong>


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay, this next chapter is especially dedicated to turtlelover0511 who suggested that I write about Eugene's time in his "dead" state. Well, this was the result. Warning: I've never written anything like this...so sorry if it kinda sucks.**

I was surrounded by a blinding darkness. I didn't move; I didn't worry; I didn't think. I simply _experienced_.

Spurts of noise, flashes of color and hints of smells came to my attention, each holding a strikingly familiar connotation. They were memories, important, life-changing memories.

There was smoke, the smell of it engulfing everything. The thick, grey cloud was my earliest and darkest memory by far. I had been five years old when my house burnt down. Mother hadn't escaped, and though Dad came out alive, I knew he lost his heart back in those flames. Three months later, he died and I was shipped off to the orphanage.

The sound of paper crinkling permeated the air as some intangible pages were turned. That was the first book I'd ever read: _The Tales of Flynnigan Rider._ I'd found it wedged under the mattress of my bed at the orphanage. Rider led such a fantastic, _exciting _life, and I was intrigued. I read the collection of stories from cover to cover nearly twelve times within that first month. I had to keep it hidden, though, because books like that were banned from the home. The nameless, faceless People-in-Charge were worried that we would get dangerous ideas from that type of literature. Boy, were they right.

Then I heard crying, a small boy sobbing. It was little Charlie Carmichael. He was upset because I'd taken his stuffed rabbit without his permission—that was the first thing I ever stole. I was sent to one of the People-in-Charge for a nasty lecture. He started by saying, "It was _obviously _you. There's no use denying it." I took those words as a challenge. The next time I snatched Charlie's rabbit, there was absolutely no way to pin the crime on me.

_Thwack! _The all-too-familiar sound of a frying pan making contact with a person's head rang out. That was from my first encounter with Rapunzel. It was odd that our little adventure had started out with physical assault. Things had progressed so much since then.

A soft, golden light started to surround me. It was everywhere, filling up the entirety of wherever I was. It made me feel good and whole again. The light was comforting and I felt its warmth spreading through me. It's strange, though, because I hadn't even realized how _cold _I was until then.

A sound followed the glow. It was musical, and I was certain that I hadn't ever heard something more beautiful. Singing…it was Rapunzel singing. I couldn't make out the words, but the lyrical noise continued.

I stopped simply _experiencing _and started to feel again. I first noticed the dull, throbbing ache that blanketed my whole body. My body—that was another thing that struck me as odd. I didn't remember having a _body _during any of those flashbacks. There was a wet spot on one of my cheeks, and I wasn't exactly sure how it had gotten there. I took a breath, realizing that I still had lungs.

_Good, _I thought. _Lungs and a body and being able to _feel _things…that's all very good._

I twitched one of my legs experimentally, relieved find that it was still there. _Still got legs_.

I finally decided to take a chance and attempted to open my eyes. My eyelids would only raise a fraction of an inch at first, but I saw that gorgeous, familiar face.

"Rapunzel," I said in a hoarse whisper. More memories came back to me. I had died…and her mother had planned to take her away forever, but I couldn't let that happen. I remembered how she had stroked my face as my bleeding got worse. Oh, she had looked so sad.

But none of that mattered anymore. She was there, and I was there, and she cared for me, and I cared for her. Everything was going to be alright.

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><p><strong>Review...and I'm sorry if this chapter isn't up to the usual standard! Let me know if there's anything you think I should change in this or add in the next one. Oh, and I was wondering if I should write just stop when the movie ends or if I should write a bit of what happens after Rapunzel gets returned to her parents. Just let me know what you think!<strong>


	20. Chapter 20

**Sorry that this chapter's a bit shorter than usual. I couldn't fall asleep so I decided to write this little piece of the story. I'm going to be honest with you guys and tell you that I haven't _actually _proof-read this chapter, so please, _please _don't be hesitant to point out any mistakes. I would appreciate the heads-up if you find anything incorrect or misspelled in this.**

**Oh, and I don't think I've properly thanked all of you who review this story and give me such positive feedback. Thanks for reading this and sticking with the story for this long! I'm really happy to know that all of you seem to like it so far. Thank you again for all the support you guys have been giving me. It means a lot!**

Rapunzel let out a small gasp. "Eugene?" she whispered to me, seeming afraid to break the silence around us.

She was different, yet strikingly the same. Her hair…that's what it was. She now had that short, spiky brown hair. It suited her quite nicely and seemed to make her eyes even greener than before. Yes, I could get used to the new appearance. Then I noticed that she was waiting for me to answer and say something to assure her that I was alright. She looked at me with uncertain eyes, still glistening with tears, and I realized that she wasn't entirely sure that I was really _back_. I had to show her somehow that it was still me, still the same old Eugene Fitzherbert that I'd been before.

"Did I ever tell you," I said, "that I've got a thing for brunettes?" A hint of a haughty smirk played at my lips, but I was a bit too weak to complete the gesture.

Rapunzel let out a relieved laugh as she bent down to hug me. Apparently my little comment did the trick.

"_Eugene_," she muttered breathlessly, wrapping her arms around my neck and rolling across me.

I held her close. Feelings of belonging stirred somewhere inside of me, and I knew that this girl in my arms had brought that about. Rapunzel buried her face in my shoulder and was practically crying with joy. My muscles ached and there was still a phantom pain in my side, but everything was just _perfect _and I was truly happy.

She pulled back from the hug so she could look me square in the face. I was smiling, and so was she, and it struck me how nice it was to be content without anything to mess it up. It had been so rare for us to get any meaningful moments of peace over these past few days. While I was pondering this, Rapunzel took initiative and caught me pleasantly by surprise. She let out another small chuckle and leaned forward to close the gap between us. And before I even really knew what was happening, we were kissing. Her lips were soft and warm, and I allowed my eyes to shut as I reached my hand up to run my fingers through her now-short hair. I recognized a familiar feeling in my abdomen: it was the one you get after you drop too far too fast and seemingly leave your stomach behind. But it was nice, and I decided that I really didn't mind feeling that way.

Rapunzel pulled back, practically giddy, but I couldn't judge her as I was sure that her expression was reflected on my face. She laughed again, simply because things were good and laughing was allowed.

"So," she said, still grinning.

"So," I repeated, and I smiled back.

She thought about her next words for a bit before actually speaking them. "I have something to tell you." Her good mood seemed to falter slightly. She looked almost nervous, though I couldn't figure out what she could possibly be anxious about now. I gave her a nod of encouragement, and she continued. "Well, I, um, I've kind of…come across some new information that might, um, affect some things."

I furrowed my brow. "What kind of information?"

She bit her lip (she even managed to make _that _look positively adorable) and took my hand, stroking it reassuringly. "Just…don't freak out, okay?" She took a deep breath and muttered, "imthelostprincess."

"What? I didn't catch that." I thought I'd heard her say something…but that was completely ridiculous, right? She couldn't actually be—

"I'm the lost princess," Rapunzel repeated with a sigh.

My eyebrows shot up, and I was momentarily concerned that they would somehow get stuck like that. Either Blondie had finally lost it or…or this thing had some merit. I thought about the princess. She had been missing the same amount of time that Rapunzel had been held captive in that tower. Also, it was rumored that the princess had the most beautiful golden hair anyone had ever seen, which was undeniably similar to Rapunzel's look before all of this. And then there were those eyes, so big and green and wonderful. They were painted on every picture, depicted in every mosaic, and talked about in every pamphlet concerning the royal family. They were Rapunzel's eyes, and they were currently staring at me with an intensely expectant expression.

"Oh my God," I murmured. "I think you could actually be the lost princess."

I, Eugene Fitzherbert (A.K.A. Flynn Rider), one of the most wanted criminals in the kingdom, just kissed the lost princess of Corona. This was certainly going to be a _complicated _relationship.

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><p><strong>Remember to review!<strong>


	21. Chapter 21

**Well, I didn't really review this chapter after I finished it, so _please _let me know about any mistakes you find while reading it. Also, I've been thinking about doing a sequel to this. I was thinking that I'd just end this story where the movie leaves off, but in that other one I'd talk about the "years and years of asking" and all the stuff _before _they lived happily ever after. Would you guys be interested in reading anything like that? And if you would be, what are some things you want to see in that sequel? Either leave your response as a review on this story or send it as a PM to me. Thank you so much! And thanks for all the support and kind comments. All the nice reviews make writing this story worth while.**

"Eugene," Rapunzel said, breaking the silence that had fallen over us. We had climbed out of the tower and were now standing with Max and Pascal the Frog. After explaining our predicament to the animals, I had apparently fallen into a state of quiet contemplation that was worrying Rapunzel. "Eugene," she repeated, concern seeping into her voice. She placed her hands on my face and turned my head so I was looking her in the eye.

"Right, sorry," I mumbled, snapping out of my trance.

I liked being this close to Rapunzel, being able to be open about these feelings she'd stirred up. I lifted one of the hands off my cheek and held it tightly in my own. Her other arm dropped down by her side, and we stood like that for awhile, just holding on to each other.

"What should we do?" she asked finally.

It was sweet that she trusted me enough to make that kind of decision, but I wasn't sure if I was up for it. I pondered this dilemma for a moment or two before responding, "Well, I guess we should go tell your…parents." That meant going into the kingdom—which alone was dangerous for me—and actually entering the castle to speak to the King and Queen themselves—which was probably the equivalent of voluntarily fastening the noose around my neck.

I glanced up and looked at Rapunzel. Her green eyes were wide in an expression of hopeless uncertainty. She'd never had a family, not a real one anyway. She _needed _this. So I decided to reunite her with her parents, no matter the cost. Perhaps the monarchs would allow me to just serve life in prison to make up for my (very extensive and quite impressive) criminal record. I tried not to think about the other, less-pleasant things they might find suitable for me.

"But won't that be too risky for you?" Rapunzel asked, not even attempting to hide her apprehension. "You're a wanted criminal."

I reached up to stroke her hair with my free hand in what was meant to be a reassuring gesture. I wasn't sure if I had her convinced, so I added, "Don't worry about me, Blondie. I'll be fine." I deliberated for a second, formulating a plan. "And I think I know a way to make amends with the kingdom." _I really hope this works_, I thought.

I climbed onto Max's back, pulling Rapunzel up behind me. With the chameleon resting precariously on my shoulder, I instructed the horse to take us to the lake. When Rapunzel asked me why we were going there, I told her that it was all part of the plan and that this would allow us to have a much smoother journey into the castle.

Now, I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but Max is _fast _when he wants to be. I'm fairly certain that his breakneck speed defies the laws of physics, but that certainly doesn't slow him down at all. We arrived at the lake's shore a surprisingly short time later, and I was wondering whether the safety risk posed by travelling this fast outweighed its convenience.

As Rapunzel and I dismounted Max, Pascal jumped onto her shoulder. I noticed that he looked even _greener _than normal, which I hadn't really thought possible. With the motion-sick frog in tow, Rapunzel and I walked over to the water's edge. I hunched over, examining the ground intensely.

"What are you looking for?" she asked me.

The sun glinted off a half-buried object a few feet away. "Ah-ha!" I exclaimed eagerly as I walked over to uncover this hidden treasure. I lifted it from the dirt and brushed it off.

"That's the crown you stole," Rapunzel pointed out.

I nodded, grinning. "The princess's tiara." I paused, contemplating how very weird this situation was. "_Your _tiara, I guess…Well, anyway, I'm pretty sure this will come in handy later on."

Rapunzel cocked an eyebrow at me, silently asking for more information.

I ignored her. I really just wanted to get this whole thing over with. I was getting increasingly more nervous with each passing second, and I would feel much better once she was brought back to her parents. I forced myself not to think of what would happen to me as a result of this meeting with the King and Queen, but it was hard not to imagine having to say goodbye to Rapunzel. It almost seemed _too _cruel for us to be separated so soon. I'd changed; I was in love. However, our less-than-an-hour-old relationship appeared to be moving toward an impending end.

"Well then…let's get going," I croaked out, my voice about an octave higher than normal. I cleared my throat and mumbled quietly, "Let's get this over with."

Rapunzel didn't push the issue, but she stroked my arm reassuringly as we rode Max into the kingdom. Her gentle touches didn't stop, even as we dismounted the horse in front of the castle's gate. She slipped her hand into mine and continued to rub circles on the back of my hand with her thumb. I took a deep breath and instructed Max and Pascal to stay put for the time being. With that, Rapunzel and I approached the guards positioned at the gate.

I cleared my throat to get the attention of the two men. They weren't wearing the traditional armor of the police force, but instead were dressed in decorative uniforms. This was as good as announcing that they weren't _real _guards, just little toy soldiers in charge of protecting the castle.

"We need to see the King," I announced, trying my best to sound authoritative and commanding. I think I managed it rather well considering the fact that my legs had turned to jelly and my stomach was doing flips (not the good kind of flips that happened when I kissed Rapunzel, but really unpleasant, nauseating somersaults).

One of the guards—the more arrogant-looking one—scoffed at me. "Right, okay," he muttered sarcastically. He took in my undoubtedly-ragged appearance with judgmental eyes. Then, a sudden realization dawned on him, and it was clear that he'd recognized me. "Hey…you're that Flynn Rider guy aren't you?" he demanded, suddenly hostile.

I sighed. I know I've complained about all the guards being absolute imbeciles, but this guy was truly an incredible idiot. My "Wanted" poster was hanging on the wall about two inches to the left. Honestly, how did he miss that?

"Am I? I hadn't noticed," I responded coolly. "We need to go see the King. Preferably now."

The guard and his partner pulled their swords and pointed them dangerously close to my face. It was a good thing I'd become so well-acquainted with the habits of these guys—even the "toy soldiers"—so I was able to shoot them a confident smirk. I let go of Rapunzel's hand and reached up to snap the tips of the blades clean off.

Here's the thing about guards-not-in-armor: they're merely for decoration. Their swords are fake as they have the easiest jobs. They're in charge of protecting the castle, but Corona's such a pleasant kingdom that stationing _real _officers outside the gates is a waste of manpower.

When the arrogant guard realized that he couldn't take me in using "force," he resorted to scathing sarcasm once more. "What do you want, Rider? Here to steal another heirloom?"

"Actually, I'm here to return one," I said, picking the crown out of the satchel and waving it in front of his face. "And," I added, "I have some information about the lost princess which I believe the _King _might be interested in, so I think I'll just go in and see him." All my previous nervousness was slowly ebbing away, replaced by exasperation at the slowness of these two men. Couldn't they see that I just wanted to meet with the monarchs? Surely a council with them, or whatever such meetings were called, wouldn't be too much to ask.

I made a move to step past the guards, but they shoved me back.

"What kind of _information_?" the man asked, and I was beginning to wonder if his partner was even capable of talking.

I sighed as if they were being the most boringly moronic people in the world—which, of course, they were. "Well, I've found her. I think that should allow me a visit with the monarchs."

The two men looked to Rapunzel, who was standing a few steps behind me, and seemed to be just noticing her for the first time. "How do we know that's her?" the other guard asked, finally speaking up.

I started to realize just how lucky I was getting. They seemed to be leaning in my favor. Perhaps, if I could convince them of Rapunzel's identity, they would allow us to go in and speak to her parents, regardless of my criminal history.

"Look at her," I told them, lowering my voice to be more dramatic. "I mean _really _look."

They stared at her for a second or two before turning to consult a mural that had been painted on a nearby wall. I could see realization dawning on their faces as they noticed her eyes—those eyes that were identical and unique to Rapunzel and the princess. The gears turning in their heads were practically visible as they calculated the age the princess would be today and compared it with how old Rapunzel was.

"Oh my," one of them muttered quietly. Their eyes had gone wide with astonishment and their mouths were hanging open slightly.

Apparently this discovery was important enough for them to forget who I was because they were soon ushering us inside the gates, murmuring excitedly between themselves.

Soon, one of the guards ran off clumsily, practically tripping over his own feet in his current state of animation.

The other one, the formerly arrogant man, turned to us and said, "Jerry's going to get the King and the Queen. I'll show you where you can wait for them." His expression hadn't changed from the bewildered one he'd been sporting after the revelation. Clearly he was still in a condition of shocked disbelief.

_Well, no turning back now_, I told myself. I slipped my arm around Rapunzel's waist and pulled her close. Who knew how much longer we'd have left together?

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><p><strong>Remember to let me know what you thought about this chapter. Also, would you like a sequel? If so, be sure to send ideas or suggestions for that story as a PM to me or just a review on this.<strong>


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey, guys! Last chapter, are you excited? I know I am. Well, anyway, I just wanted to thank you all again for the lovely reviews and supportive comments I've been getting for this story. I really appreciate them. Also, I just wanted to remind you guys that there will be a sequel, so _please _give me any ideas you have for that. How long should it be? Should it include the wedding or not? What else would you like to read about? Any input you could give would be awesome!**

Rapunzel and I were shown out onto some sort of balcony. The view of the city's lake that could be seen from that spot was magnificent. It reminded me of the scene from the castle's rooftop which I had glimpsed before stealing the princess's crown…well, Rapunzel's crown. We stared off at the water, silent for awhile.

I was thinking about life imprisonment. I was fairly certain that this would be my sentence. After all, I was the most notorious thief in the kingdom, and just because I'd found Rapunzel and returned her safely didn't mean the King would be too lenient in his decision; just because I wanted to be with her didn't mean that reality would match up with my desires.

"Eugene…" Rapunzel's voice was soft, so quiet that I almost couldn't make out the word.

I looked down at her face. She was wearing the same expression of confusion, anxiety and concern that I'd seen on her just before the lanterns were released. "I know you're scared about this, Blondie," I said, giving her a small smile as I lifted my hand to stroke her hair. "But you honestly have nothing to be worried about. They're going to love you, and you'll be happy, and you'll finally have a family…a _real _family."

She reached down to intertwine her fingers with mine. I leaned closer to her so that our shoulders were pressed tightly against one another. It was a nice feeling to have her this close; I tried to hold onto that.

"You really think they'll like me?" Rapunzel wondered, the self-doubt in her voice throwing me off.

"Of course they will," I assured her. "It's physically impossible for someone to meet you and not like you right away." I squeezed her hand and planted a kiss on her forehead.

She giggled as my lips pressed against her skin. "Well, I seem to recall a certain thief who didn't take to me at first." She stared pointedly at me, her lips twitching up into a little smile.

I laughed. "That might have been because you hit said thief in the head with a frying pan…_twice_!"

She shoved me playfully. After a moment or two of the pleasant silence, she said in a more serious tone, "Thank you for everything. You've done so much for me, and I just…"

"Trust me," I told her. "You've done just as much for me." Without her, I'd still be a petty criminal dreaming of a vapid, selfish retirement on a solitary island. But now here I was, ten times the man I had been just a few days prior. I _cared _about someone other than myself for the first time in a very, very long while. I no longer thought solely of money or jewels or priceless heirlooms. Rapunzel had gone and changed my whole dynamic, and I was better because of it.

Then, the tall double doors behind us creaked open. We turned simultaneously, and I caught sight of the King and Queen. I'd seen them in paintings and mosaics before, but now that I actually took the time to really _look _at them, I realized that they were unmistakably Rapunzel's parents. While she bore very little resemblance to her father, Rapunzel was the spitting image of her mother. They had the same eyes, the same hair (though the Queen's was much longer), and they were about the same height. The Queen's face was more lined, the years of age and worry showing themselves distinctly in these wrinkles, but other than that, the two women were strikingly similar.

Rapunzel took a few small steps forward and I let go of her hand. I watched as her mother copied the slow approach. They seemed unsure, scared, and overjoyed all at once, and finally, the window of uncertainty shattered. The Queen took several more steps toward Rapunzel and reached out a hand to touch her daughter's face when she was within reach. Eyes filled with tears, the Queen let out a happy sigh, and Rapunzel exhaled in the same manner.

That was when the mother pulled her daughter into a loving hug. I felt almost uncomfortable watching this very private, familial moment, but it was a truly beautiful thing to see them reunited after so long.

The King walked over, and after catching Rapunzel's eye, he chuckled and wrapped his arms around the two women. They sank to the ground, all kneeling but never breaking the embrace. I smiled, genuinely pleased as I realized just how loved Rapunzel would be with her parents. She would never be locked away or alone or neglected again.

The Queen noticed me staring at them, and she extended her hand. I walked over to shake it, assuming that this was a small gesture of thanks for returning their daughter. I was wrong. As soon as I took the Queen's hand, she tugged me down and I was quickly included in the family's hug.

I have to admit, it felt really nice to be a part of something like that.

As it turns out, the King was a much kinder man than I had given him credit for. When I finally broached the topic of my sentence (which only happened after about three hours of parent-child bonding), he told me that I had absolutely nothing to worry about. I was given a clean slate, just so long as I agreed to adhere to the laws from then on.

Well, you can imagine what happened next. The kingdom rejoiced, for the lost princess had returned. The party lasted an entire week, and honestly, I don't remember most of it. Dreams came true all over the place. Hook-hand went on to become the most famous concert pianist in the world, if you can believe that! The poor sap with the giant nose, he eventually found true love. As for the mime, well, I assume he's happy; he's never told me otherwise. Thanks to Maximus, crime in the kingdom disappeared almost overnight…as did most of the apples. Pascal never changed.

At last, Rapunzel was home, and she finally had a real family. She was a princess worth waiting for. Beloved by all, she led her kingdom with all the grace and wisdom that her parents did before her.

And, as for me, I started going by Eugene again, stopped thieving and basically turned it all around. But I know what the big question is—did Rapunzel and I ever get married? Well, I'm pleased to tell you that after years and years of asking and asking and _asking,_ I finally said yes.

I can almost hear Rapunzel now saying, "_Eugene_," in that fake-scolding tone that lets me know she's not serious.

Alright, I asked her.

And as Rapunzel constantly reminds everyone, we're living happily ever after. And she's completely right. Yes, we are.

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><p><strong>I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. This has been a really fun story to write and I'm almost sad to be finished with it. But the sequel will hopefully be starting up soon, so I need ideas! Thanks so much!<strong>


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